China’s LandSpace Challenges Musk and SpaceX in Space Race

HUZHOU: China’s private space company LandSpace openly acknowledges drawing inspiration from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Earlier this month, the Beijing-based startup became the first Chinese company to test a reusable rocket, marking a significant milestone. This move caught the attention of SpaceX, which is now preparing for an IPO to fund its upcoming projects, similar to the plans LandSpace is considering.

Despite the Zhuque-3 test ending in failure, its ambition to become China’s second-largest producer of reusable rockets is breathing new life into China’s space sector, traditionally dominated by large, risk-averse state-owned enterprises.

“[SpaceX] can push products to the limit, even into failure, quickly recognizing boundaries and improving,” said Dai Zheng, chief designer of Zhuque-3, in an interview with CCTV following the rocket’s first flight.

Dai explained that in 2016, his decision to leave the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology—China’s primary state-run rocket developer—was partly influenced by SpaceX’s focus on reusability and his desire to develop a similar Chinese alternative.

LandSpace aims to provide China with a cost-effective launch option, much like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, to support Beijing’s plan to develop a constellation of 10,000 satellites in the coming decades.

“Falcon 9 is a proven design, tested by engineers,” said Dong Kai, Zhuque-3’s deputy chief designer, during a podcast last week. “We see its rationality—this is learning, not copying.”

“Calling Zhuque-3 a ‘Chinese Falcon 9’ is a huge compliment.”

The startup culture at LandSpace, along with emulating SpaceX, is already causing a major shift in China’s space industry.

Historically, China’s government-led space program has been cautious about failed launches, unlike SpaceX and other Western aerospace companies that openly share their mishaps. However, earlier this month, Chinese state media reported on the country’s first two attempts to recover a reusable rocket—one of which was conducted by a state-owned enterprise—just three weeks after Zhuque-3’s initial flight.

Earlier this month, LandSpace also opened its engine factory to reporters for the first time, providing a rare glimpse of one of its key assets.

Since opening China’s space sector to private investments in 2014, leading startups like LandSpace have emerged. Now, Beijing is facilitating their access to capital markets by streamlining IPO processes.

Dai noted that SpaceX’s substantial financial backing has allowed it to absorb losses during Starship testing phases.

“We’re not at that stage yet,” Dai commented to CCTV. “But our country recognizes the importance of supporting commercial space ventures with available capital.”

Comparison with Starship

A month before LandSpace launched Zhuque-3, Elon Musk had already taken notice of its design. In response to a video showing the assembly, he tweeted that the Chinese rocket integrated features from SpaceX’s Starship with a Falcon 9-like layout.

“They’ve incorporated elements of Starship, like stainless steel and methalox fuel, into a Falcon 9-style design, which could potentially outperform Falcon 9,” Musk said in October, marking his first public comment on LandSpace.

“But Starship is in a different league.”

Features like stainless steel exteriors and methalox engines are strategies both SpaceX and LandSpace are exploring to cut launch costs. The most significant cost reduction, however, comes from designing rockets that can land, recover, and reuse their first stages after launch.

As LandSpace prepares for its next launch after the December setback—when Zhuque-3’s booster failed to perform a controlled landing after activation 3 km above ground, crashing instead of landing—the company might find reassurance in SpaceX’s own history. SpaceX’s first successful Falcon booster landing occurred in 2015 after two failed attempts.