China First Successfully Lands Reusable Rocket on Land
China successfully launched and landed a returnable rocket on land for the first time.
Consensus
- China successfully launched and landed a reusable rocket on land for the first time.
- The rocket used was Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3).
- The launch occurred from the Jiuquan Space Center.
- The first stage landed in Mingxian County, Gansu Province.
- The launch time was 02:35 Moscow time (07:35 local time in China).
- The second stage successfully placed the Honghu-3 satellite into orbit.
- The rocket is a two-stage reusable launch vehicle.
- The launch was conducted by the private Chinese aerospace company LandSpace.
Points of divergence
- This was the second flight of the Zhuque-3 rocket; its first flight in December of the previous year saw the second stage reach orbit but the first stage was lost. — vedomosti
- On August 17, China launched a CZ-2C satellite for Earth remote sensing from the Taiyuan Space Center, marking the 664th mission in the Long March series. — vedomosti
- NASA Director Jared Isaacman stated that China may land a person on the Moon before the U.S. returns astronauts to the Moon, though he believes the U.S. will ultimately surpass China. — vedomosti
Coverage (3 sources)
- China successfully launches and lands on land a returned rocket for the first time — Вести
- China successfully launches and lands a return rocket for the first time — Ведомости
- In China, the returned rocket ZQ-3 was successfully launched and landed on land for the first time — Коммерсантъ