Private Chinese launch providers continue to march at pace toward reusability, with two companies performing test high-altitude hops of their Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) prototype vehicles. Landspace achieved a 10 km altitude flight in late August with its ZhuQue-3 hopper prototype. This week, Deep Blue Aerospace flew its Xingyung-1 reusable test vehicle for the third time, completing many goals, but experienced an anomaly during landing.
The ZhuQue-3 prototype conducted a successful 10 km high-altitude test flight, lasting 200 seconds and, crucially, including an engine reignition test. Landspace shared several videos including views looking down from the landing legs, which are reminiscent of SpaceX’s Grasshopper pathfinder which contributed to the development of the Falcon vehicles. In the following week, an additional 360-degree VR version was released. This recording allows viewers to look upward and see the raceway cover being ripped off at engine re-ignition — something Landspace will address in the next iteration.