Select Language:
On December 4th, an investor familiar with the Chinese private space launch industry confirmed that the recent failure during a recovery test of LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reusable carrier rocket will not affect the company’s plans for its initial public offering.
Despite the unsuccessful recovery verification conducted yesterday, the rocket’s successful launch remains a positive indicator, and this setback is unlikely to impede the company’s listing application, according to Zhang Chi, a founding partner of Xin Ding Capital.
The Zhuque-3 was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on its maiden mission, successfully placing its second substage into a predetermined orbit. However, during the recovery test, the first substage experienced an abnormal event after ignition and failed to perform a soft landing at the recovery site, resulting in an explosion. The exact cause of the issue is currently under investigation.
Zhuque-3 is considered the most capable rocket in China’s private aerospace sector in terms of payload capacity, with the recovery technology being an added feature rather than a primary concern, Zhang noted. The successful launch is expected to ease capacity constraints within the Chinese commercial space industry and speed up satellite network deployment efforts.
This third-generation carrier rocket from LandSpace boasts a reusable model with a payload capacity of at least 18 tons to low Earth orbit, offering robust support for major space ventures and satellite internet projects in China.
Founded in 2015, LandSpace is preparing for a pre-IPO phase on the Shanghai Star Market, a Nasdaq-style stock exchange, with China International Capital Corporation acting as the financial advisor, as announced in July.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
