On December 3, 2025, the Zhuzhou No. 3 reusable launch vehicle developed by LandSpace successfully completed its first flight — the second stage of the rocket smoothly entered orbit, but the first stage failed to achieve a soft landing and crashed into the ground, igniting a fire at the last moment.
Regarding the cause of the failure in the recovery of the first stage, Zhang Xiaodong, the chief designer of Zhuzhou No. 3, disclosed for the first time the key technical details of the recovery verification during an interview with CCTV. He stated that the main reason was abnormal combustion after engine ignition.
The first flight of Zhuzhou No. 3 demonstrated outstanding performance in multiple critical links from ignition to separation of the first stage, which took 133 seconds. Zhang Xiaodong introduced that when the rocket approached its peak altitude, it opened the grid fins, then started three engines from 80 kilometers down to 40 kilometers to decelerate, successfully entering the atmospheric flight phase. It even overcame the most challenging "supersonic re-entry aerodynamic glide phase" of a recoverable rocket, precisely aligning with the landing field during re-entry ignition and aerodynamic glide.
However, the problem occurred in the last few kilometers: the final engine ignition used a relatively conservative design plan, but unexpected combustion occurred, leading to the failure of the soft landing.
Nevertheless, this attempt was not in vain — it not only verified a large number of reusable technologies such as grid fin control and supersonic re-entry, but also accumulated core data, which can help optimize the weight of subsequent models. For example, after the flights of the Y2 and Y3 rockets, the burn-off conditions of the rocket body can be observed on-site to further improve performance.
In the interview, Zhang Xiaodong also said that the current Zhuzhou No. 3 is an "interim version," and many designs have not yet reached the final goal. According to public data, the height of the first flight's Zhuzhou No. 3 rocket is 66 meters, with a diameter of 4.5 meters, made of stainless steel, and equipped with an 80-ton class engine. When used once, it can send 13 to 14 tons of payload into orbit, and when reused, the capacity is about 10 tons.
However, Zhang Xiaodong clearly stated that it is just a "transition model." The future upgrade path has already been clear, and the core is "lengthening the rocket body, upgrading the engine, increasing thrust, and enhancing carrying capacity."
First, looking at engine upgrades: the current 80-ton-class engine will be replaced by a 100-ton-class one. Don't underestimate the 20-ton single-engine improvement; the first stage of Zhuzhou No. 3 uses a "nine-engine parallel" design — nine engines working together, resulting in a significant increase in single-stage thrust. The total thrust of the current transitional model is not explicitly disclosed, but according to the final goal, nine 100-ton-class engines connected in parallel can achieve a total takeoff thrust of 900 tons, which is more than 20% higher than the current transitional model's thrust (calculated based on the transitional model's approximate takeoff weight of 750 tons and current engine thrust).
Next, looking at the rocket body and carrying capacity: the future rocket body will be further lengthened, extending from the current 66 meters to 76.6 meters, an increase of more than 10 meters, allowing more propellant to be carried, and combined with stronger engines, the carrying capacity will also see a "leap."
According to Blue Arrow Aerospace's plan, the final version of Zhuzhou No. 3 will have a low Earth orbit carrying capacity of up to 21.3 tons when used once, a near 50% increase from the current 13 to 14 tons; even when reused, the capacity will reach 12.5 tons upon return to base, and up to 18.3 tons when recovered in the flight area, fully meeting the needs of low Earth orbit satellite internet constellations that require launching multiple satellites at once.
Currently, China is building a low Earth orbit satellite internet constellation, and plans to launch tens of thousands of satellites into orbit. Each year, hundreds or even thousands of tons of equipment need to be sent into space — this requires rockets to carry more, fly more frequently, and have lower costs. The current transitional model's carrying capacity and thrust cannot fully meet this large-scale launch demand. For example, currently, sending 14 tons requires 15 launches to deliver 200 tons of equipment; with a carrying capacity of 21.3 tons in the future, it can be done in 10 launches, significantly improving efficiency.
Upgrading the engine to a 100-ton class and achieving a total thrust of 900 tons is key to achieving "carrying more." More importantly, the upgraded rocket can better leverage the advantages of "reusability": Zhuzhou No. 3 uses liquid oxygen-methane fuel, similar to natural gas used for cooking at home, which burns to produce only water and carbon dioxide without residue. After recovery, the engine does not require major disassembly and overhaul; the rocket body uses stainless steel, which can withstand repeated high-temperature and high-pressure impacts, theoretically allowing the first stage to be reused up to 20 times.
Zhang Xiaodong calculated that, once the reuse technology matures, the launch cost can be reduced by 80%-90% compared to single-use rockets — meaning the threshold for satellite launches and space freight will be significantly lowered, even supporting new scenarios like "space tourism" and "deep space exploration."
The first flight of Zhuzhou No. 3 failing to recover is actually more like a "precise pitfall" — exposing issues in the ignition process to eliminate key risks for future upgrades. The plan to lengthen the rocket body and increase thrust is not a fantasy: the current Zhuzhou No. 3 has already completed key tests such as the first stage power system test and fueling joint exercises, and the multiple start-up and thrust adjustment technologies of the Tianque series engines have already been broken through.
In the future, when the 76.6-meter-long Zhuzhou No. 3 rockets with 900 tons of thrust soar into space, it will help China's aerospace industry gain a real core competitiveness in the global competition for "low-cost, frequent launches." As Zhang Xiaodong said, "The advantage of reusable rockets is to keep improving while flying; every step now is paving the way for a more mature model."
After Zhuzhou No. 3, China will also have multiple other reusable rockets such as Changzheng 12A and Tianlong 3 to attempt their first flight, and it is believed that China will soon master reusable rocket technology, catch up with rockets like SpaceX's Falcon 9, and gradually surpass them.
Source: CCTV News report on November 13, "Exclusive Interview with the Chief Designer of Zhuzhou No. 3, Key Technical Details of Recovery Verification Disclosed for the First Time"
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7583242243125936649/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.