US vs China
The reusable rocket race
The US has been landing and re-flying orbital boosters for a decade. China recovered its first in July 2026 — and it flew the world’s first methane rocket to orbit three years before that. Where each side actually stands, with a source for every date.
181
US orbital launches, 2025
92
China orbital launches, 2025
654
Falcon booster landings to date
2
Chinese booster recoveries to date
Launch totals: Payload, orbital launch attempts by each country’s launch providers in 2025. Landings: Launch Library 2, as of Nov 2, 2026. Milestones last verified Oct 26, 2026.
Timeline: landing and re-flying boosters
US China
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Dec 21, 2015 · US
First landing of an orbital-class booster: a Falcon 9 first stage returns to Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral. Space.com ↗
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Mar 30, 2017 · US
First reflight of an orbital-class booster: a previously flown Falcon 9 launches SES-10 and lands again. Space.com ↗
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Oct 13, 2024 · US
First Super Heavy booster caught by the launch tower, on Starship Flight 5. Reuters via Gulf Times ↗
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Nov 13, 2025 · US
Blue Origin lands a New Glenn booster for the first time, on the ship Jacklyn, after launching NASA’s ESCAPADE. The first attempt, on New Glenn’s debut flight on 16 January 2025, was lost. Space.com ↗
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Dec 3, 2025 · China
China’s first orbital booster landing attempt: LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reaches orbit on its debut, but the booster is lost during the landing burn. Beijing time; 2 December in the US. Space.com ↗
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Dec 23, 2025 · China
Long March 12A, China’s state-built methane rocket, reaches orbit on its debut; its booster landing also fails. AIAA ↗
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Apr 19, 2026 · US
New Glenn flies a booster for the second time and lands it again — Blue Origin’s first orbital booster reflight. Spaceflight Now ↗
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Jul 10, 2026 · China
China’s first successful orbital booster recovery: on the Long March 10B’s debut, the first stage hooks onto a net on a sea platform — making China the second country to recover an orbital booster. Scientific American ↗
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Aug 19, 2026 · China
Zhuque-3 lands its booster on its second flight — China’s first landing on legs, on land, and the first by a private company. 07:35 Beijing time; 18 August in UTC. Spaceflight Now reported a fire at the stage after touchdown. Spaceflight Now ↗
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Sep 28, 2026 · US
Starship reaches orbit for the first time, on Flight 14; every earlier flight was suborbital. Space.com ↗
The gap is in re-flying, not landing. The busiest Falcon 9 booster, B1067, has flown 37 times; no recovered Chinese booster has flown a second time yet. See the booster reuse leaderboard →
Every methane rocket that has reached orbit
Methane (liquid methane or natural gas, burned with liquid oxygen) is the fuel nearly every new reusable rocket in both countries has chosen. Ordered by first orbit.
| Rocket | Burns methane | Engine | First orbit | Booster | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhuque-2 / 2E LandSpace · China | Methane: Both stages | Engine: TQ-12 (2E: TQ-12A) | First orbit: 12 Jul 2023 — first methane rocket ever to reach orbit | Booster: Expendable | Space.com ↗ |
| Vulcan Centaur United Launch Alliance · US | Methane: First stage (natural gas) | Engine: BE-4 (Blue Origin) | First orbit: 8 Jan 2024 | Booster: Expendable | SpacePolicyOnline ↗ |
| New Glenn Blue Origin · US | Methane: First stage (upper stage burns hydrogen) | Engine: BE-4 ×7 | First orbit: 16 Jan 2025 | Booster: Landed Nov 2025; reflown Apr 2026 | Spaceflight Now ↗ |
| Zhuque-3 LandSpace · China | Methane: Both stages | Engine: TQ-12B ×9 | First orbit: 3 Dec 2025 (Beijing) | Booster: Landed Aug 2026; not yet reflown | Spaceflight Now ↗ |
| Long March 12A CASC (Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology) · China | Methane: Both stages | Engine: Longyun-70 ×7 | First orbit: 23 Dec 2025 | Booster: Landing attempt failed on debut | SpaceNews ↗ |
| Starship SpaceX · US | Methane: Both stages | Engine: Raptor | First orbit: 28 Sep 2026 (Flight 14) | Booster: Tower catches since Oct 2024 | Space.com ↗ |
Announced, not yet flown
- Terran R (Relativity Space, US) — first launch targeted late 2026 (latest official target). Relativity Space ↗
- Hyperbola-3 (iSpace, China) — first launch targeted “end of 2026”, per iSpace in March 2026. 36Kr ↗
- Nova (Stoke Space, US) — first launch targeted early 2027. Space.com ↗
- Neutron (Rocket Lab, US) — first launch targeted 2027 (moved from Q4 2026 on 14 Oct 2026). Rocket Lab ↗
Not on the list: Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 and CASC’s Long March 12B burn kerosene, not methane.
Common questions
- Has China reused a rocket booster?
- China has recovered orbital boosters twice — a Long March 10B caught by a net at sea on 10 July 2026, and LandSpace’s Zhuque-3, which landed on legs on 19 August 2026 (Beijing time). As of Oct 26, 2026, neither booster has flown again.
- What was the first methane rocket to reach orbit?
- LandSpace’s Zhuque-2, from China, on 12 July 2023 — ahead of every US methane rocket, including Starship, Vulcan and New Glenn.
- Who launches more rockets, the US or China?
- In 2025, US launch companies made 181 orbital launch attempts and Chinese ones 92, by Payload’s count — nearly two to one, most of the US total being SpaceX Falcon 9.
- Which rockets burn methane?
- Flying today: Zhuque-2 / 2E, Vulcan Centaur, New Glenn, Zhuque-3, Long March 12A, Starship. Announced but not yet flown: Terran R, Hyperbola-3, Nova, Neutron.
How this page is put together
- Every milestone, first-orbit date and engine links to the report it comes from — space news outlets, company announcements and Chinese state media. Where reports disagreed, we used the more direct source and left out what we couldn’t confirm.
- Dates are UTC unless marked Beijing time; Chinese launches often fall on the previous calendar day in the Americas.
- Landing counts and the booster leaderboard come from Launch Library 2 and update automatically. The milestones and the methane table are checked by hand — last on Oct 26, 2026.
- “Launch attempts” counts failures too, using one counter (Payload’s) for both countries so the totals compare like with like.
- Found an error or a newer source? Email about@nextlaunch.today — we re-check it and update the “last verified” date.
More
See the booster reuse leaderboard, China’s rockets and recent launches, or this year’s launch stats.