Chinese Zhuque-3 rocket explodes on first landing attempt

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LandSpace's first attempt to land a rocket was quite a spectacle, as newly released video footage reminds us.

The Beijing-based company's Zhuque-3 launcher reached orbit successfully during its debut mission on Dec. 3, 2025 — quite a feat for any rocket.

But Zhuque-3 couldn't pull off the twofer. Its first stage experienced problems during the latter stages of its return to Earth, ultimately exploding in a violent fireball near its designated landing pad.

The first stage of LandSpace's first Zhuque-3 rocket crashes while trying to land on Dec. 3, 2025. (Image credit: CCTV) We recently got some up-close looks at that failed return to Earth , thanks to CCTV. On Aug. 20, the state-run Chinese broadcaster released dramatic footage of the landing attempt, which includes video captured from a camera on the booster itself.

Those selfie shots highlight the rocket's resemblance to the paragon of reuse, SpaceX 's Falcon 9. For example, we see the rapidly approaching ground through the metal mesh of two hypersonic grid fins, attitude-control devices the Falcon 9 pioneered and popularized.

The CCTV video also shows that Zhuque-3 was in trouble before it hit the ground: The booster suffered a mini-explosion during descent and was already a flaming wreck when it reintroduced itself to terra firma.

LandSpace apparently learned some important lessons that day because Zhuque-3's second mission, which occurred on Aug. 18, was a complete success. The 216-foot-tall (66 meters) rocket delivered a satellite to orbit, and its first stage stuck the landing .

It was the first-ever touchdown by a private Chinese orbital rocket, and just the second by a Chinese orbital launcher of any description. The first was pulled off on July 10 by the first stage of a Long March 10B rocket, which nestled softly into a net-like apparatus installed on a ship at sea.