appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Zhonghua Sheng

On the morning of August 19, LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area. After deploying its second stage and payload into orbit, the rocket’s first stage touched down softly at a recovery site in Gansu province using deployable landing legs.
It was China’s first successful land-based recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster that had just completed an orbital mission – a feat previously achieved only by SpaceX.
Just over a month earlier, on July 10, state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corpartion recovered the first stage of a Long March-10B rocket using a sea-based net system. In less than six weeks, China displayed two distinct recovery methods – a rapid succession of milestones that underscores the country’s space ambitions.
The benchmark for reusable rockets remains SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which pioneered vertical landing after launches of this kind and has conducted hundreds of recoveries. Through first-stage reuse, Falcon 9 has driven its launch price down to about US$2,700 per kg (US$1,225 per lb) – a reduction of 85 per cent from an average of US$18,500 in the pre-reusable era. In contrast, China’s commercial launch prices hover at between US$8,000 and US$14,000 per kg, depending on rocket type and mission profile.
The Zhuque-3 is explicitly designed to close that gap. Standing 66 metres tall with a lift-off mass of roughly 570 tonnes, its first stage is powered by nine methane-liquid oxygen engines. Its stainless-steel structure – a deliberate departure from Falcon 9’s aluminium alloy – offers better heat resistance at a lower manufacturing cost. The booster is designed to be reused at least 20 times.
But while the China-US technology gap in reusable launch vehicles has narrowed, it remains substantial. As a Zhuque-3 team engineer acknowledged anonymously in 2024: “China may have its own Falcon 9 rocket in five years and Starship in 20 years. We need to work hard to catch up.”


The economic logic of reusability is straightforward. The first stage accounts for roughly 70 per cent of a rocket’s total cost. Reusing it just five times could cut per-launch costs by as much as 45 per cent; at 20 reuses, the marginal cost is dominated by the expendable second stage, fuel and refurbishment since the massive initial cost of the first stage is amortised across multiple flights.
This compelling arithmetic has unleashed a wave of commercial activity. LandSpace is among at least 10 Chinese aerospace companies preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs) to fund their expansion, with many aiming for profitability by the end of the decade. The broader strategic context is China’s ambition to build low Earth orbit satellite constellations to rival SpaceX’s Starlink. Reusable rockets are the indispensable enabler; without them, deploying thousands of satellites remains economically unsustainable.
Zhuque-3’s success presents three distinct, high-value opportunities for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s financial markets can become the launch pad for China’s space unicorns. The Chapter 18C listing regime, which covers aerospace technology, has lowered market capitalisation thresholds – making it easier for deep-tech space ventures to go public in the city.
With a wave of mainland rocket firms eyeing IPOs, Hong Kong can offer not just capital, but a full suite of insurance, legal and risk-management services tailored to a capital-intensive industry with long investment horizons. The sector is maturing, and Hong Kong’s financial ecosystem is ready to underwrite it.


Hong Kong’s research universities have proven they can build hardware for the national space programme – and they should double down. From Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory, also known as the Tianyun camera, now operating aboard the Tiangong space station, to Polytechnic University’s next-generation space navigation cameras and City University’s lunar soil simulants, the city’s academic institutions are embedded in the space value chain.
But the opportunity goes beyond government-funded projects: Hong Kong can become a regional hub for space science, translating its basic research into commercial applications and forging partnerships with mainland manufacturers.
The Northern Metropolis could become a docking station for the commercial space industry. While the city is not built for heavy rocket manufacturing or launch pads, it is exceptionally well suited to high-value downstream services: satellite payload design, low-orbit data operations and command-and-control software development.
One local start-up is developing a satellite constellation, and a 23-year-old PolyU undergraduate has raised nearly 100 million yuan (US$14.9 million) for his rocket venture. The government has reportedly held talks with mainland aerospace companies about setting up operations in the Northern Metropolis.
Zhuque-3’s first stage landing in the Gobi Desert is not the finish line. The path from recoverable to reusable and profitable is long. But for Hong Kong, the door to the trillion-dollar global space economy is now open. The question is whether the city can move quickly enough to walk through it.


For China’s hi-tech IPOs, it’s Hong Kong vs the mainland – but how much does it matter?

Hong Kong secures expanded equal treatment and investment guarantees across Asean

Housing prices surge near new Huanggang Port as buyers eye ‘dual-city’ lifestyle

Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan to give firms more long-term certainty: Paul Chan

Hong Kong economy

Reusable rocket milestone opens a door for Hong Kong’s space ambitions

This video screenshot shows the first stage of the Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket successfully completing its land-based recovery on August 19. Photo: LandSpace/Handout via Xinhua

China becomes first nation to recover orbital launch rockets with 2 distinct paths

In a global first, leading Chinese commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets. Photo: CCTV

The successful mission makes Zhuque-3 China’s first commercial rocket to both reach orbit and have its first stage recovered. Photo: CCTV

Why China’s reusable rocket breakthrough matters for the PLA’s ‘kill chain’

The first stage of LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket makes its land-based recovery on August 19. Photo: LandSpace / Handout via Xinhua

As the space race heats up, China’s momentum is undeniable

China’s space race has a new problem: finding room for failure

The Long March-7A rocket exploding less than 90 seconds into its flight on August 10, after launching from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. China has launched the 7A thrice in seven weeks, after a five-month stand-down due to failure investigations. Photo: Handout

A plume of smoke in an image shared on Chinese social media after the failed launch of the Tianlong-3 rocket on April 3, 2026. Photo: Weibo.

Opinion

Hong Kong Opinion

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

China Future Tech

Aerospace

China Opinion

Flurry of commercial activity offers opportunities for Hong Kong’s financial markets, research universities and the Northern Metropolis


Flurry of commercial activity offers opportunities for Hong Kong’s financial markets, research universities and the Northern Metropolis.


China's space programme

LandSpace

Aerospace: Industry Trends

Space

China

SpaceX

China technology

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

Aerospace: Companies

Aerospace: Policy

Universities in Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The University of Hong Kong

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Reusable rocket milestone opens a door for Hong Kong’s space ambitions

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Flurry of commercial activity offers opportunities for Hong Kong’s financial markets, research universities and the Northern Metropolis

Flurry of commercial activity offers opportunities for Hong Kong’s financial markets, research universities and the Northern Metropolis