Reusable rocket: Another setback for China

The second stage of the new rocket from Type Long March 12A The state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday that it reached the planned orbit on its first flight on Monday. However, the first stage was not successfully recovered. The flight was the second Chinese failure in an attempt to land and recover a rocket stage after launch.

China wants to catch up with SpaceX

At the beginning of the month, the private rocket company Landspace failed to land the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket. The reusability of rocket stages is considered crucial to reducing the cost of space launches and transporting satellites.

China would like to catch up with the US company SpaceX, which is a leader in this technology. The company founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk has mastered this skill for several years. With its reusable Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX subsidiary Starlink has built a near monopoly on satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Both state and private actors are behind the race for technology in China. The developer of the Long March 12A rocket is the state-owned company China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, a company with more than 100,000 employees and the main contractor of the Chinese space program.

Landspace, on the other hand, is a startup with fewer than 2,000 employees.