Chinese space startup LandSpace has landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket back on land, marking the first time a Chinese company has achieved a booster landing and putting it in the same club as SpaceX and Blue Origin. The milestone matters because it moves China closer to reusable rocket technology, which cuts launch costs and supports Beijing's ambitions for satellite broadband constellations, its space station and a planned moon base.

The mission launched at 7:35am, separated its first and second stages 137 seconds into flight, and landed the first stage at 7:41am at a site around 250km from the launchpad, after a sequence of attitude adjustments, powered deceleration and a landing-leg deployment. Zhuque-3 can carry 21,300kg to a 450km orbit using LandSpace's own methane-fuelled TQ-12A engines, and is designed for up to 20 reuses per stage, though the company has yet to actually refly one. The success follows a failed maiden flight of Zhuque-3 in December, and state media has hailed the achievement as a "major breakthrough".