China is entering a new phase in its launch strategy as a series of reusable and partially reusable rockets from state-owned and private players move into pre-launch testing.
A modified Long March 10 for crewed missions has completed a key demonstration combining an in-flight abort test of the Mengzhou crew capsule with a controlled return and splashdown of its first stage. The booster executed a powered descent guided by grid fins, validating a landing profile comparable to current benchmark systems.
This Long March 10 configuration is designed as a next-generation crew launcher for the Tiangong space station and future lunar missions, with variants featuring a reusable first stage. It is part of a broader roadmap that places reusability among China’s strategic spaceflight objectives.
In parallel, commercial companies are accelerating their own liquid-fueled, vertical-takeoff-and-landing rockets. Landspace is preparing Zhuque-3, presented as China’s first heavy reusable commercial launcher, built in stainless steel and powered entirely by liquid oxygen and methane, with a reusable first stage in the Falcon 9 class. Space Pioneer is advancing a comparable reusable system.
These developments follow a record year in which China conducted more than 90 orbital launches, underscoring a rapid increase in cadence as both state and private actors converge on cost-reducing reusable architectures.