Landspace performs 9-engine static fire test for reusable Zhuque-3 rocket 

HELSINKI — Chinese launch startup Landspace carried out a breakthrough static fire test Friday as it builds towards an orbital launch attempt with its Zhuque-3 rocket.

The nine engines of the Zhuque-3 stainless steel first stage ignited at 12:00 a.m. Eastern (0400 UTC, 12:00 p.m. Beijing time) at Landspace’s launch pad 2 at the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China. 

The Zhuque-3’s self-developed Tianque-12A methane-liquid oxygen engines ignited in sequence and fired for 45 seconds, including gimbal control testing, before shutting down as planned. The test produced 7,542 kN of thrust.

The successful test lays a solid foundation for the upcoming inaugural flight of the Zhuque-3 and for the country’s reusable launch vehicle technology, Landspace said in a statement. 

The multi-engine test marks a boost to China’s long-standing efforts to develop reusable launch capabilities. However, more demanding milestones—reaching orbit, achieving safe recovery, and demonstrating reuse—still lie ahead.

The first Zhuque-3 orbital launch attempt was earlier slated for the third quarter of the year and would carry a prototype of the reusable Haolong cargo spacecraft, designed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC). The test is part of a program for low-cost cargo delivery to the Tiangong space station. Landspace did not provide a timeframe for the launch in its static fire test statement.

In September 2024, Landspace conducted a 10-kilometer-altitude launch and landing test with a prototype first stage. The company has stated it aims to begin recovery attempts in 2026.

Friday’s static fire test used a first-stage identical to the one intended for Zhuque-3’s inaugural flight and covered the full ground-based launch preparation and ignition sequence, including propellant loading, tank pressurization, staged engine ignition, steady-state operation and a programmed shutdown.

The Zhuque-3 has a liftoff weight of about 570 metric tons and a total length of approximately 66 meters, according to the statement. This is around 10 meters shorter than the previously stated 76.6 meters. This suggests that at least the early Zhuque-3 launches could have a reduced payload capacity compared with earlier stated full capabilities. 

Landspace earlier stated that the two-stage, 4.5-meter-diameter Zhuque-3 will have mass at liftoff of about 660 tons, powered by nine Tianque-12B engines—an upgrade over the TQ-12A engines used for the static fire. Payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO) will be 21,000 kilograms when expendable, or up to 18,300 kg when the first stage is recovered downrange. Alternatively, it can carry 12,500 kg to LEO when returning to the launch site. 

The static fire test follows a similar test conducted by CAS Space for its Kinetica-2 launcher. That rocket also aims to fly for the first time in the coming months, also with a prototype cargo spacecraft as its payload. Space Pioneer is also preparing for a first stage static fire at Haiyang, a year after its disastrous previous test. The rockets are just a few of those with planned first flights in China in 2025.

Landspace is one of the first launch startups to have emerged following a Chinese central government decision in late 2014 to open up portions of the space sector to private capital. Its Zhuque rocket series are named for the Vermillion bird from Chinese mythology.

Its first launch—using the solid propellant Zhuque-1—failed in October 2018. The company dropped the rocket and concentrated on the methane-liquid oxygen Zhuque-2 which, in July 2023, became the first launcher using that propellant mix to reach orbit. An upgraded version flew most recently last month.

The company received $123 million from China’s National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund for its rocket plans in December 2024.