tech
December 23, 2025
China's second attempt at completing a reusable rocket test fails
The Long March 12A's maiden flight marked China's second attempt at landing and recovering a rocket booster after launch.
TL;DR
- The first stage of China's Long March 12A rocket was not recovered during its maiden flight.
- The second stage of the Long March 12A successfully reached its planned orbit.
- China is striving to develop reusable rocket technology to lower launch costs and compete with SpaceX.
- SpaceX has already achieved success with reusable rockets like the Falcon 9, impacting the low-Earth orbit satellite market.
- Private Chinese firm Landspace also recently attempted a full reusable rocket test with Zhuque-3, which failed.
- China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation developed the Long March 12A, while Landspace is a smaller private company.
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