Demo Flight

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Test Flight

Low Earth Orbit Launch Area 96B Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
ZQ-3 F1 - Zhuque-3 Landing Site

First test launch of LandSpace’s ZQ-3 rocket, with a dummy payload. The rocket’s 1st stage attempted to land on a landing pad about 300 km downrange of the launch site.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 3, 2025, 6:20 a.m.

Launch success, first stage failed to land.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 2, 2025, 1:59 a.m.

NET December 3 per NOTAMs.



Zhuque-3

Family:
Configuration:

Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) is a reusable orbital launch vehicle developed by Chinese private company LandSpace. The rocket is built using stainless steel and shares the same series of gas generator cycle methane/liquid oxygen powered rocket engines as in the currently active ZQ-2E rocket. The first stage uses 9 TQ-12 engines (initially the TQ-12A, then upgraded TQ-12B) while the second stage uses 1 TQ-15 engine (TQ-15A, then TQ-15B). On launch missions where the first stage is recovered, it will land on a down-range landing pad located in Minqin County, Gansu Province.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    76.6 m
  • Diameter
    4.5 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    660.0 T
  • Thrust
    9000.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Zhuque-3
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
    ZQ-3
  • Full Name
    Zhuque-3
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    21300.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


ZQ-3 F1


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: December 3, 2025
Last Flight: December 3, 2025
Flights: 1
Landings Attempted: 1

Landing Information

The Zhuque-3 first stage booster executed its re-entry burn normally, but the landing burn was abnormal and the booster crashed next to its downrange landing pad on its landing attempt.

Result: ZQ-3 F1 did not land successfully.

LandSpace

LandSpace

(LS)

Founder: Zhang Changwu Founded: 2015 Successes: 5 Failures: 3 Pending: 1

Agency Type:

LandSpace is a Chinese private space launch company based in Beijing. It was founded in 2015 by Tsinghua University alumni Zhang Changwu.

WIKI

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 96B


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