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


Long March 6A
Success
1 day, 15 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 21
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A batch of 5 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Long March 8
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group 07
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Minotaur IV
Success
2 days, 23 hours ago
STP-S29A
Space Launch Complex 8 - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

STP-S29A is a mission under the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program (STP) that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contri…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 7 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-35
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Atlas V 551
Success
6 days, 4 hours ago
Amazon Leo (LA-05)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…


Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
Success
1 week ago
Meridian-M No.21L
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Meridian is a series of communications satellite for military and civilian use.


Tianlong-3
Failure
1 week ago
Demo Flight
Tianlong-3 Launch Pad - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch of Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 rocket.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 10-58
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Space Launch System (SLS)
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Artemis II
Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Artemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 10-44
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.