China successfully lands vertically on the ground with reusable rocket first stage propellant

China succeeded in recovering the rocket's first stage propellant by landing it vertically on the ground.

According to China's official Xinhua News Agency on the 19th, the Zhuche-3 Yao-2 carrier rocket was launched from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone in Jiuquan, Gansu Province.

The second stage of the rocket successfully entered the intended orbit, and the separated first stage propellant landed vertically on the ground according to preset procedures.

This is the first time that China has succeeded in recovering the first stage propellant of a reusable transport rocket from the ground using a landing leg.

As a result, China is assessed to be one step closer to securing core technology in the reusable rocket race led by the U.S. SpaceX.