China’s Space Pioneer is preparing for the maiden launch of its Tianlong-3, a vehicle similar in design, size, and payload capacity to the Falcon 9, just over a year since the dramatic static fire of its first stage. This is set to be the first of several commercially developed reusable launchers set to make their debut before the end of the year.
Across the private sector, companies are moving forward with new launch vehicles and reusable hardware, such as Space Epoch, which has now successfully fired an engine that was previously flown and recovered from a splashdown. Meanwhile, iSpace has launched China’s first droneship to support propulsive landings at sea.