China's first successfully launched reusable rocket is Zhuque-3. Although the recovery was not successful, its launch process was impeccable. In the coming months, it will conduct a second test flight. By summarizing and learning from the experience and lessons of the first test flight, it is highly likely that Zhuque-3 will achieve the goal of recovery in its second test flight.
Zhuque-3 is the flagship rocket of Blue Origin Aerospace Technology Company. Its performance indicators and launch missions are comparable to SpaceX's Falcon 9, but it is technologically more advanced, as it uses liquid oxygen-methane engine technology and stainless steel rocket body, making it more economically practical than Falcon 9.
However, Blue Origin Aerospace is not only developing Zhuque-3. It seems to be determined to become China's SpaceX, as it also plans to build a super large rocket, which is aimed at SpaceX's Starship. This article's information comes from an interview with Dong Kai, the vice chief designer of Zhuque-3 at Blue Origin Aerospace, the company's technical progress announcements, and industry analysis reports. Through the information revealed, it unveils the key layout of this private aerospace company's pursuit of the "fully reusable rocket era."
Development of China's Starship, Core Power "Lanyan 20" Engine Has Completed Over 30 Ignition Tests
When mentioning "Starship," most people think of SpaceX's stainless steel shell, reusable "space truck" — its goal is to achieve full reusability of rocket components, reducing space transportation costs to "vegetable prices." According to Blue Origin Aerospace, its planned China version of Starship has not yet been officially named, but it is called "Zhuque-X" in the industry, and it has entered a critical development phase. The size, scale, performance, thrust, carrying capacity, and fuel used by this giant rocket are very similar to Starship.
The power system supporting this giant Chinese rocket is the "Lanyan 20" liquid oxygen-methane engine developed by the company. This engine is no ordinary one: it is the fifth engine in human history to complete a test run using the "full-flow staged combustion cycle," and it is the second engine in the world that can match SpaceX's "Raptor 2" for Starship — it should be noted that "Raptor 2" is the core power of the current Starship's heavy-lift booster, with a single thrust of over 230 tons, allowing a hundred-ton load to break through Earth's gravity.
As of September 2025, "Lanyan 20" has completed more than 30 ignition tests, achieving about half of the designed thrust of 224 tons. This progress may seem like "only half the way," but in the aerospace field, it is a major breakthrough — the full-flow staged combustion cycle technology is known as the "jewel on the crown of engines." The fuel and oxidizer can be completely burned in the engine's combustion chamber, enabling high thrust and efficiency. Previously, only SpaceX's "Raptor" series had fully mastered this technology and made it practical.
Technical Comparison: Why Can "Lanyan 20" Compete with "Raptor 2"?
To understand the significance of "Lanyan 20," we need to understand its "homology" with "Raptor 2" — both were born for "fully reusable rockets," and their core design ideas are highly aligned.
From the perspective of fuel, both have chosen "liquid oxygen-methane." This fuel has a huge advantage: it is clean and produces no carbon deposits. Traditional rockets use kerosene fuel, which leaves residue in the engine after burning, requiring disassembly and cleaning after each flight, making rapid reusability impossible; while liquid oxygen-methane burns to produce only water and carbon dioxide, allowing the engine to "use and go," and it can be restarted after a simple inspection. For a Starship-level rocket aiming for "7-day rapid reusability," this is a "must-have."
From the perspective of thrust and efficiency, "Lanyan 20" has a designed thrust of 224 tons, slightly lower than "Raptor 2"'s 230 tons, but it is in the same order of magnitude. More importantly, the "full-flow staged combustion" technology — it allows the fuel and oxidizer to be pre-combusted through two independent turbine pumps before entering the main combustion chamber, extracting all energy before being sent into the main combustion chamber. Its specific impulse (a core indicator of engine efficiency) can reach over 330 seconds, matching the level of "Raptor 2." This means that the future "Zhuque-X" can carry over 100 tons of payload into space using multiple "Lanyan 20" engines in parallel, and allow the first stage of the rocket to return to the ground intact.
Now, SpaceX's Starship Raptor 3 engine has already been mass-produced and will be used in upcoming test flights, with a thrust increased to over 280 tons. Meanwhile, the Raptor 4 engine is basically completed, with a thrust reaching around 320 tons. This shows how important engine technology iteration is.
However, Blue Origin Aerospace's "Lanyan 20" engine has not been used yet, but technological iteration has already begun. From the progress of its more than 30 ignition tests, the team is rapidly solving issues related to component reliability under high temperature and pressure conditions.
Strategic Significance: Not Just "Catching Up," But Also "Filling the Gaps"
The development of China's Starship and the research of "Lanyan 20" hides China's "strategic urgency" in aerospace.
On one hand, low-Earth orbit resources are being "claimed." Currently, SpaceX's Starlink has deployed over 10,000 satellites, occupying half of the low-Earth orbit resources. China's planned "Thousand Sails" and "National Grid" low-Earth orbit constellations will require launching over 60,000 satellites in the future. Relying on single-use rockets is simply "too slow and too expensive." The cost of launching a single-use rocket is approximately 50,000 to 100,000 yuan per kilogram, while fully reusable rockets can reduce the cost to below 20,000 yuan per kilogram, even approaching SpaceX's "200 dollars per kilogram." The China version of Starship supported by "Lanyan 20" is precisely to fill the gap in "high-frequency, low-cost launches," avoiding falling behind in the space race.
On the other hand, it is a crucial step for China's private aerospace industry to move from "following" to "running side by side." Previously, Blue Origin Aerospace's Zhuque-2 became the first liquid oxygen-methane rocket to reach orbit globally. Now, pursuing fully reusable Starship-level rockets is equivalent to upgrading from "being able to send satellites into space" to "being able to repeatedly send rockets into space." Knowing that SpaceX has dominated 80% of the global space launch market with the reusability technology of Falcon 9, the breakthrough of "Lanyan 20" means that China's private aerospace industry can not only build "functional rockets," but also "convenient and affordable rockets," giving it the confidence to compete with SpaceX in the international commercial launch market.
Challenges and Future: The Road Is Long, But If the Direction Is Right, We Can Catch Up Quickly
Naturally, developing China's Starship and perfecting "Lanyan 20" involves many challenges for Blue Origin Aerospace.
Firstly, there is the issue of "thrust compliance." Currently, the thrust of "Lanyan 20" only reaches half of the designed value. To achieve a full thrust of 224 tons, it needs to solve a series of problems such as turbine pump speed, combustion chamber heat resistance, etc. — after all, the temperature inside the engine can exceed 3000°C, higher than a steel furnace. Any failure of a single part could lead to a test failure.
Secondly, there is the challenge of "full-rocket integration." Starship is not a simple combination of "engine + rocket body"; it also requires high-precision attitude control, high-strength stainless steel rocket body, and a mechanical arm recovery system capable of "capturing the rocket in mid-air." Although Blue Origin Aerospace has verified some technologies for first-stage recovery on Zhuque-3 (such as grid fin control and re-entry ignition), full-reusability Starship requires the second stage to also be recovered. The difficulty is akin to "ensuring that every part of the rocket can safely return home."
Nevertheless, from the progress, Blue Origin Aerospace has given a clear timeline: by mid-2026, Zhuque-3 will evolve into its "final form," and by around 2030, it will achieve a key breakthrough in the China version of Starship. More importantly, the team has demonstrated a "rapid iteration" aerospace mindset — as Dong Kai said, "The first flight recovery failure is not scary, the key is to get real data." This "trial and error - improvement - trial again" model is the core logic behind SpaceX's success.
For ordinary people, "Lanyan 20" and China's Starship may seem far from daily life, but its significance is very close: when space transport costs drop to "airplane ticket prices," future space tourism, space manufacturing, and even lunar base construction will turn from "science fiction" into "possibility." What Blue Origin Aerospace is doing is providing the "key" to open the door to China's "low-cost space age."
Source of News: "First财经" December 26 report "Commercial Aerospace 'Prepared to Launch': Rockets Are Shot Up, Prices Are Lowered"
Original Article: toutiao.com/article/7588173704245297683/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.