China's Desperate Attempt to Copy SpaceX Rocket REUSE System, but FAILED...

Again, China has just launched a new rocket in an attempt to replicate SpaceX's reusable rocket system. However, the outcome remains unchanged and the effort has ended in failure. Why is copying SpaceX proving to be so difficult? At the same time, the country has revealed the first official details of a new space station resupply vehicle. Meanwhile, Russia is moving forward with plans for a gravity-based space station project. Let's explore all this on today's episode of Great SpaceX. In the previous episode, we discussed the challenges surrounding multiple Asian rocket launches that took place within less than a single day, focusing specifically on vehicles from Japan and South Korea. However, there was also a far more significant launch from China that deserves closer attention. This launch involved China's Long March 12A rocket, which lifted off at 900 p.m. on December 22nd. The mission departed from the Dongfang commercial space innovation test zone at the Juuan Spaceport. Unlike many previous Chinese launches, this flight carried ambitions that extended well beyond simply reaching orbit. The primary objective of this mission was to attempt a vertical landing of the booster after stage separation. This approach closely mirrors the reusable launch vehicle strategies pioneered by SpaceX and more recently pursued domestically by companies such as Landspace with its J23 rocket. The goal was clear. China is actively working to demonstrate that it can recover and reuse large orbital class rocket boosters rather than discarding them after a single flight. During ascent, the mission appeared to progress smoothly. The rocket successfully cleared the launch tower, maintained stable flight, and completed stage separation as planned. Following separation, the booster initiated its descent sequence, and attempted a re-entry burn. The target was a designated landing pad located approximately 250 km away in Minchin County within Gansu Province. However, despite these efforts, the landing attempt ultimately failed. Images released during the descent phase showed the booster with its engine glowing brightly, likely due to normal operational heating effects. The vehicle was also enveloped in a dramatic white venting plume, which made for striking visuals and suggested active propellant management or thermal processes during re-entry. What stood out to many observers, however, was that a similar visual effect appeared on the upper portion of the booster. This raised questions about whether exhaust plume interaction or reflected engine flow may have affected sections of the vehicle not designed to experience such conditions. It's possible that this interaction contributed to the failure of the landing attempt. Subsequent information revealed that the booster ultimately impacted the ground roughly 2 km away from the intended landing pad. This significant misdistance strongly suggests that the booster's guidance, navigation, and control systems did not function as intended during the final phase of the descent. In practical terms, the booster lost the ability to precisely steer itself to the target location. Despite this setback, the mission cannot be classified as a total failure. The successful ascent meant that the rocket still achieved one of its key objectives, orbit. From an engineering and programmatic perspective, reaching orbit remains a critical milestone, especially when testing new vehicle configurations and recovery techniques. Following the flight, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, commonly referred to as SAS, released a statement acknowledging the unsuccessful landing attempt. At the same time, the organization emphasized that the flight produced a substantial amount of valuable data. According to SAS, this realworld flight data will play a crucial role in identifying technical shortcomings and guiding improvements for future missions. In the coming days and weeks, engineers are expected to conduct a comprehensive assessment and detailed technical evaluation of the mission. This process will likely examine every phase of flight from ascent and separation to re-entry and terminal descent. From an outside perspective, there are several plausible explanations for what went wrong. One possibility is that the booster's communications or connectivity systems were damaged during re-entry. If telemetry or command links were disrupted, the onboard systems may have been unable to execute precise engine restarts for deceleration and course correction. Another possibility is that the engines themselves experienced issues after enduring extreme thermal and mechanical stresses, potentially including fuel leaks or combustion instability during the landing burn. Regardless of the specific cause, the overall outcome closely resembles other recent attempts at first stage recovery by emerging launch systems. Notably, it echoes the early December Zuche 3 flight by Landspace as well as Blue Origin's new Glenn debut. In all of these cases, the rockets performed well during ascent and successfully reached space or orbit, but failed during the recovery phase. This pattern once again highlights just how difficult it is to land and reuse orbital class rockets. SpaceX has spent more than a decade refining this capability, and it has done so through repeated testing, frequent failures, and continuous iteration. For China, the approach to reusability appears particularly ambitious. Rather than gradually developing a unique recovery architecture, many Chinese programs have chosen to directly emulate existing SpaceX designs. In some cases, they even combine elements from different SpaceX vehicles into a single system. Despite repeated setbacks, these efforts are unlikely to slow down. Chinese agencies and private companies alike understand the enormous advantages of reusability. Lower launch costs, higher flight rates, and improved responsiveness are all benefits that SpaceX has clearly demonstrated over the past several years. One particularly striking concept that has drawn attention is the idea of catching rockets rather than landing them on legs. This method, which is most famously associated with Starship, involves using large robotic arms mounted on a launch tower to physically catch the returning vehicle and secure it for refurbishment. SpaceX has already demonstrated this capability multiple times with Starship test vehicles, successfully catching the booster using the tower mounted arms. It did not take long for Chinese companies to take notice. Several months ago, Cosmolap, also known as Beijing Dahang transition technology, released images of its Leap rocket concept. These images showed a towermounted catching system that closely mirrored the Starship design, including large mechanical arms intended to intercept the returning booster. More recently, another startup called Astron Stone, officially known as Yushi Space Aerospace Technology, announced a new rocket project that also incorporates a catching arm system. Unlike other companies that are more discreet about their design influences, Astron Stone openly stated that it is fully aligning its technical approach with that of Musk's SpaceX. If successful, such a system would represent a remarkable engineering achievement. If it fails, however, the consequences could be catastrophic, potentially damaging launch infrastructure and setting programs back by years. The challenge isn't simply recreating the hardware. It's matching the operational discipline, software maturity, and relentless iteration that underpins SpaceX's success. The question is whether that gap can truly be closed. From my perspective, the answer is no. SpaceX continues to operate on a level no competitor has matched. The company sets new launch and landing records with near annual regularity. Falcon 9 alone has now flown more than 580 missions with roughly 165 launches this year. And rather than slowing down, that cadence continues to accelerate. Reusability only reinforces this dominance. SpaceX has landed Falcon 9 boosters more than 500 times across land-based pads and autonomous drone ships. Individual vehicles have reached extraordinary milestones, including booster B1067, which has successfully flown and landed 33 times. These are not isolated achievements, but the result of a system operating at scale. Starship is the next major leap. Still in development, it has already demonstrated elements of its rocket catching system. Next year, SpaceX plans two-stage Starship launches aimed at achieving full system reusability, a first in orbital space flight. Even if early attempts face setbacks, the scale and pace of SpaceX's testing suggest rapid progress. For competitors trying to replicate these systems, closing the gap could take decades. At the same time, SpaceX is positioning itself for a sharp expansion in launch capacity. Ongoing growth at Starbase in Texas, paired with new facilities in Florida. Once Starship is fully operational, that lead may grow even larger. Turning to China, the focus now shifts to orbital logistics. The country has released images of early hardware for a new Tong Gong space station resupply vehicle known as Chinghao or light ship. It's one of two next generation cargo systems under development alongside the Holong space plane concept. Chingo is being developed by the Innovation Academy for Micro Satellites under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It's intended to be a smaller, lighter, and more coste effective vehicle than the existing Tanjo spacecraft. The revealed hardware resembles a cargo module rather than a traditional spacecraft. Similar in appearance to Sierra Space's shooting star module, this design likely places thrusters at the rear, while a larger circular opening at the front houses the docking ports for Tong Gong. Reported specifications point to a vehicle roughly 3.3 m in diameter with a launch mass near 5,000 kg and a cargo capacity of up to 1,800 kg. The design includes both pressurized volume for crew supplies and an unpressurized section for external payloads and experiments. Ching Joe has reportedly cleared its design review, entered production, and is now awaiting systems integration. It's expected to fly aboard CAS Space's Kinetic 2 rocket with the launch schedule driven by Tong Gong's operational needs. Looking beyond China, Russia's space station ambitions appear increasingly speculative yet also more expansive. Inertia has secured a patent for a rotating space station concept intended to generate artificial gravity. The design targets approximately 0.5g through a rotating structure about 40 m in diameter spinning at roughly five revolutions per minute. Habitat modules would be mounted radially using centrifugal force to simulate gravity. The patent acknowledges major challenges particularly docking and resupply of a rotating station. Russia has not released a detailed road map or funding plan and construction would likely follow the retirement of the ISS and require multiple launches. Even so, the idea reflects a recurring trend. Rotating habitats have appeared in studies for decades. From NASA concepts to modern commercial proposals, the motivation is clear. Artificial gravity could mitigate the serious health effects of long-term microgravity. Whether Russia can realistically pursue such a project remains uncertain given its current economic and industrial constraints. For now, it stands as another ambitious concept waiting to see if it can move beyond paper and into orbit. Oh, and before we end the episode, from all of us here at Great SpaceX, we would like to wish you all happiness and warmth as you hopefully spend your holiday with your loved ones. The year is coming to a close. So, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for yet another fulfilling year of groundbreaking milestones and unforgettable moments. From the beginning all the way to the end, we were there together. And with that folks, this has been Kevin with Great SpaceX. Don't forget to like the video and subscribe if you haven't already to stay up to date with yours truly on the latest milestones in SpaceX's journey. Thank you so much for watching and always remember, curiosity, imagination, and inspiration will follow you so long as you keep looking up.