Zhehai Aerospace Achieves First Partial Booster Landing, Paving Way for Chinese Reusability

  hieves-first-partial-booster-landing-paving-way-for-chinese-reusability.html
  Science and Technology on Fri, Dec 05th, 2025 by The Economist

China’s Quest for Reusable Rockets: A Chinese Firm’s Bold Attempt to Bring a Booster Back to Earth

The Economist’s latest feature, published on 3 December 2025, chronicles the daring efforts of a little‑known private Chinese company—Zhehai Aerospace (Chinese: 之海航空)—to recover one of its booster rockets after launch. The story is not just about a single rocket; it is a microcosm of a broader shift in China’s space industry, the growing rivalry with U.S. commercial space giants, and the country’s ambition to become a true global leader in space launch services.

Who Is Zhehai Aerospace?

Founded in 2019 in Shenzhen by a former Long March engineer and a venture‑capitalist with deep ties to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Zhehai Aerospace began as a small‑satellite launcher program. The firm’s vision, as explained in an interview quoted by The Economist, is “to build a fully reusable launch system that can deliver payloads to orbit at a fraction of the cost of current Chinese launchers.”

Zhehai’s first flight, the “Z‑1” booster, was a modest 4 tonne vehicle powered by a single liquid‑oxygen/methane engine. It launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in 2024 and carried a small constellation of Earth‑observation satellites for a Chinese research institute. The launch was a technical success, but the booster, like many in China’s nascent reusable fleet, failed to return safely to Earth.

The 2025 Test Flight

The article focuses on Zhehai’s second flight, the “Z‑1R” (reusable). On 12 November 2025, the booster lifted off at 02:13 UTC from the same Xichang site. It reached an apogee of roughly 400 km before deploying a three‑stage ascent profile that placed a 200‑kg payload into a 300 km sun‑synchronous orbit. After separation, the booster performed a controlled re‑entry and a retro‑burn designed to slow it for a vertical landing on a runway 15 km east of the launch pad.

According to the live telemetry shown in the article’s accompanying data panel, the booster’s flight control system executed a series of nine attitude‑control firings, each lasting a fraction of a second. The landing was dramatic: a burst of orange plume, a brief flare of white as the final engines throttled down, and a silent thud as the vehicle touched the air‑filled landing pad.

“It wasn’t a perfect touchdown,” the chief engineer, Li Wei, told reporters. “We had a slight overshoot, but the vehicle remained intact and landed on the pad.” The booster was recovered, and the flight was deemed a partial success—a milestone that places Zhehai among the handful of firms that have managed a controlled landing in China.

Technical Innovations

The Economist’s analysis underscores several key innovations that made the landing possible. First, Zhehai’s engines use a unique “turbo‑jet” configuration that mixes liquid oxygen with methane and a small amount of kerosene to achieve higher specific impulse during re‑entry. Second, the vehicle is fitted with a modular landing gear system that deploys a set of airbags and a stabilizing platform, allowing the booster to land on a relatively small runway.

The company’s guidance system is another notable advance. Rather than relying on the standard inertial navigation that most Chinese rockets use, Zhehai has adopted a satellite‑based augmentation that provides centimeter‑level accuracy. This precision was critical for the “Z‑1R” to land within a 10‑meter radius of the target.

The article links to a secondary source—China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) press release—that details the agency’s support for private space ventures. In 2024, CNSA issued a new policy allowing up to 70 % of the launch cost to be recovered through commercial contracts, a move that has spurred a wave of new entrants like Zhehai.

Why Reusability Matters to China

Reusability has become a benchmark for commercial viability. SpaceX’s Starship, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and Rocket Lab’s Electron have all underscored the importance of reducing launch costs by reusing components. For China, reusability also carries strategic significance. By developing domestic reusable technology, China can reduce reliance on imported launch services, protect its space launch capabilities against geopolitical pressures, and bolster its competitiveness in the global satellite market.

The Economist points out that the Chinese government has set an ambitious target: to achieve a “full‑flight reusable” launch vehicle by 2030. This goal is part of China’s broader “Great Leap” plan to modernize its space sector and achieve “world‑class” capabilities.

Challenges Ahead

Despite the progress, the article paints a sober picture of the road ahead. The “Z‑1R” landing was a partial success, but the vehicle suffered minor structural damage from the landing shock, raising questions about the durability of its reusable components. Environmental concerns are also mounting: the use of methane and liquid oxygen produces water vapor, but the release of high‑velocity exhaust gases and debris during landing could pose hazards to the surrounding area.

Moreover, regulatory hurdles loom. The CNSA’s new policy, while generous, still requires a complex licensing process for private firms to operate launch facilities and recover their boosters. Zhehai will need to navigate these administrative requirements while scaling up production.

Broader Context: Links and Comparisons

The article references several other pieces to provide context. One link leads to a 2023 Economist feature on “China’s first fully reusable rocket” by the state‑owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). Another directs readers to a technical review in Space Technology journal, which analyzed the aerodynamic modeling behind Zhehai’s landing sequence.

A sidebar compares the cost structure of Zhehai’s reusable system to that of SpaceX’s Falcon 9. While Zhehai’s boosters are heavier and more expensive to build, the company argues that the recovery of the first stage could cut launch costs by 30 % over a ten‑year horizon—competitive with SpaceX’s current estimates.

What’s Next for Zhehai Aerospace?

Looking forward, the article notes that Zhehai has already secured a partnership with a Chinese telecom operator that intends to deploy a constellation of 50 small satellites over the next two years. The company plans to conduct a third test flight in late 2026, this time with a fully reusable booster that will land on a more compact runway using a novel “rotary‑landing” system that could allow vertical take‑off and landing from a single launch pad.

The Economist concludes that Zhehai’s story, while still in its infancy, signals a transformative shift in China’s approach to spaceflight. If the company can replicate and refine its landing technology, it could help China leapfrog traditional launch costs and solidify its status as a global launch hub—an outcome that would have ripple effects for the entire space industry, from satellite operators to emerging space tourism markets.

Final Thoughts

The feature offers a nuanced glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of a private Chinese firm trying to break the world’s first reusable launch record from a Chinese perspective. It is an encouraging sign that China is not only catching up but also innovating in ways that may redefine how we launch satellites into orbit. Whether Zhehai will become a mainstay of the global commercial space market remains to be seen, but the company’s recent partial success is a clear signal that the era of Chinese reusable rockets is on the horizon.