The 26.8-meter-tall, 57-ton rocket reached an altitude of 2.5 kilometers before beginning a controlled descent. Its engine reignited after apogee, braking the return until a soft vertical landing in the Yellow Sea. A video released by the company shows the vehicle hovering briefly above the surface before hitting the water, surrounded by a halo of flames.
A 125-second flight and a recovered rocket
"This success represents a key milestone in the development of reusable liquid-propellant rockets," Space Epoch said in a statement, specifying that the entire flight—lasting 125 seconds—had gone according to plan.
The maneuver tested by Space Epoch is based on the principle of VTVL ("Vertical Takeoff, Vertical Landing"), a technique already well mastered by SpaceX with its Falcon 9 and Starship rockets. The idea is simple—on paper: bring the rocket back down by actively braking it so that it lands vertically. In practice, this requires very high-level engineering, particularly for in-flight engine restarts, a point that Space Epoch seems to have validated with this demonstration.
For now, no Chinese company has yet reached the level of technological maturity of SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 rockets have already made more than 450 successful landings. But several startups in the country are getting closer. In 2023, LandSpace successfully completed a flight with engine reignition during descent. Others, such as Space Pioneer and i-Space, have also taken important steps towards reuse.
Rocket recovery is now seen as a necessary step to reduce the costs of space exploration. It is of interest to both government agencies and private companies, as the space sector experiences strong growth. There's a lot of work to be done, from tourism services to in-orbit infrastructure and exploration missions.
While the United States still largely dominates the private space sector, Chinese companies are making numerous announcements of technical progress. The Chinese government is actively encouraging this type of initiative by opening the space market to private players.
Space Epoch's sea test is therefore the first of its kind for a Chinese company. By targeting reusable rockets, the Beijing-based company hopes to attract investors and prepare for commercial launches in the near future. No orbital flight date has yet been set, but the ambitions are there.
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