Zhuque-3 maiden flight reaches orbit, first commercial methane rocket to do so

LandSpace/Zhuque-3

LandSpace's Zhuque-3 successfully completed its maiden flight on 3 December 2025, reaching low Earth orbit with a payload. While the booster recovery was not attempted on the first flight, the mission validated the two-stage methane/LOX design and nine TQ-12 engine first stage.