On Friday, Chinese private company LandSpace completed a series of tests of its Zhuque-3 reusable rocket on methane. This is the second reusable private development rocket in China using environmentally friendly fuel. Previously, the iSpace company had carried out a series of Hyperbola-2 rocket launches. Thus, while SpaceX is trying to successfully launch its giant Starship rocket, Chinese companies are also starting to breathe.

The prototype of the Zhuque-3 rocket, with a launch mass of 50.3 tons, a height of 18.3 m and a diameter of 3.35 m, rose to a height of 320 m and remained in the air for 60 seconds. The rocket rose slowly and fell almost to the center of the nearby target. The accuracy of the landing was not reported, but, for example, in the case of testing the prototype of the Hyperbola-2 rocket, the deviation from the center of the target was only 29.5 cm.

According to LandSpace, Zhuque-3 rockets will begin commercial operation in 2025. Being able to use each rocket at least 20 times will reduce the launch cost by 80-90%. In the future, the company will conduct a series of tests on the prototype going to higher altitudes to improve the rocket’s control system technologies.

Is it surprising how they managed to do this without the “fireworks” that regularly occur when Elon Musk’s space company tests prototypes on the launch pad? But the Chinese are not very inclined to talk about failures. Therefore, the facts about the accidents can be trivially concealed, which does not cast a shadow on their achievements in any way.