China recovers rocket stage on land for first time after earlier sea recovery

China has successfully recovered a rocket’s first stage on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, marking another step forward in the country’s efforts to develop reusable space technology.

The achievement marks China’s second successful recovery of a rocket stage. In July, the country recovered a rocket stage on a sea platform.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the reusable Zhuque-3 rocket was launched Wednesday morning and its first stage was successfully recovered afterward.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been recovering rockets since 2015. Reusing rocket hardware that would otherwise be discarded has helped lower launch costs for satellites and other payloads.

Xinhua said Wednesday’s mission was also the first time China had used deployable landing legs during a rocket recovery. It described the successful landing as “a major breakthrough” in the country’s reusable rocket technology.

On July 10, the first stage of a Long March-10B rocket separated from its second stage after liftoff and returned to a platform at sea. The stage was recovered using a net-capture system.

The following day, July 11, Japan conducted the first test flight of an experimental reusable rocket, which successfully launched and landed.

Japan is also working to develop reusable rocket technology as it seeks to reduce launch costs and strengthen its competitiveness in the global space market.