Maiden flight preparation for China's reusable rocket Zhuque-3 enters critical phase

Preparation for the maiden flight of China's reusable rocket Zhuque-3 has entered a critical phase after the completion of joint fueling drills and static ignition tests from Saturday to Monday.

The successful tests also laid the groundwork for the rocket's official launch and first-stage recovery later this year.

With a diameter of 4.5 meters and a total length of around 66 meters, the Zhuque-3 rocket can carry up to 18 satellites per launch, making it an ideal choice for launching satellites for large-scale constellation networks.

Equipped with landing legs and grid fins for controlled descent, the rocket is designed to vertically recover its most expensive component -- the first stage, which accounts for 70 percent of the total rocket cost.

As its first stage is designed to be reused at least 20 times, the rocket has the potential to reduce launch costs by 80 to 90 percent compared with single-use rockets.

Powered by a parallel cluster of nine liquid oxygen-methane engines, the first-stage can achieve meter-level landing precision, as five of the engines are capable of gimballing.

In addition, these engines produce a combined thrust of more than 7,500 kilonewtons, setting a new record for Chinese commercial liquid-fueled rockets.

LandSpace, the rocket's developer, is a leading Chinese private space company.

Maiden flight preparation for China's reusable rocket Zhuque-3 enters critical phase

Influenza activity in China has declined for four consecutive weeks, with recent tests showing common pathogens and no evidence of new infectious diseases, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday.

At its first press briefing of 2026, the commission reported that flu activity nationwide remains moderate at the moment.

According to Xin Li, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, respiratory samples collected from sentinel hospitals indicated that the influenza virus was the most common pathogen, accounting for 27.4 percent of cases, followed by respiratory syncytial virus at 8.8 percent and rhinovirus at 5.7 percent.

"Influenza activity in China has declined for four consecutive weeks and remains at a moderate level overall. Analysis of nationwide fever clinic consultations, influenza-like illness cases at sentinel hospitals, and multi-pathogen testing shows that all detected pathogens are known common ones, with no evidence of unknown pathogens or new infectious diseases," Xin told the press.

Data from sentinel hospitals indicated flu activity was falling across provincial-level regions, while reports of school outbreaks dropped for five consecutive weeks. Laboratory tests showed that 97.3 percent of positive influenza samples were H3N2 subtype viruses.

China flu activity declines for fourth week, no new pathogens detected: official