The first stage of China’s reusable Long March 12A “was not successfully recovered” during the rocket’s inaugural flight on Monday, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, as Beijing looks to close the gap with U.S. giant SpaceX.
The second stage of the rocket did successfully enter its planned orbit, Xinhua reported. The Long March 12A’s maiden flight marked China’s second attempt at landing and recovering a rocket booster after launch.
China has in recent years launched dozens of rockets that deliver satellites into orbit but has yet to successfully complete a reusable rocket test, which requires the rocket’s large lower section, known as the first stage or booster, to be landed and recovered after launch.
With Elon Musk’s SpaceX having mastered this capability several years ago, Chinese private and state-owned rocket firms are rushing to test domestically developed reusable rockets.
Reusability is crucial to lowering the costs of rocket launches, which would make it cheaper to send satellites into space. SpaceX’s reusable rocket Falcon 9 has allowed its Starlink unit to achieve a near-monopoly on low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
