A spectacular explosion shows China is close to obtaining reusable rockets

A fireball erupted around China's first reusable rocket as it plummeted toward its landing pad in the Gobi Desert this week, marking both triumph and near-miss in the country's bid to match SpaceX's dominance. LandSpace's new Zhuque-3 rocket successfully delivered its payload to orbit on its maiden flight, but the real drama unfolded when the booster attempted its historic landing attempt.

The 216-foot methane-fueled rocket nearly hit a bullseye at the recovery site before crashing at high speed. "According to telemetry data, an anomaly occurred after the first stage initiated its landing burn, preventing a soft landing on the designated recovery pad," LandSpace reported.

Despite the fiery finale, the attempt signals China's urgent push to develop reusable rockets. The country launched 78 times this year compared to 182 US launches, with SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 alone accounting for 153 flights. At least two other Chinese companies are preparing similar landing attempts in coming weeks, as the nation races to support massive satellite constellations and close the gap with American space capabilities.