China's LandSpace gears up to take on Musk and SpaceX

Earlier in December, the Beijing-based firm became the first Chinese entity to conduct a reusable rocket test.

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That put SpaceX on alert and LandSpace is now preparing to go public to fund its future projects, just as its bigger and far more successful US rival considers an initial public offering of its own.

Even though LandSpace's Zhuque-3 rocket test ended in failure, its aspiration to become second only to SpaceX in reusable rockets is providing a fresh impetus to China's space industry, which has long been dominated by risk-averse, state-owned entities.

"(SpaceX) can push products to the edge and even into failure, quickly identifying limits and iterating," Zhuque-3 chief designer Dai Zheng told state broadcaster CCTV after the rocket's inaugural flight.

Mr Dai said his decision in 2016 to join LandSpace and leave the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the country's main state-owned rocket developer, was partly motivated by SpaceX's focus on reusability and his desire to create a Chinese equivalent.

LandSpace's focus on giving China its own low-cost launch option similar to SpaceX's flight-proven reusable rocket Falcon 9 will play a key role in Beijing's plans to build up 10,000 satellite constellations in the coming decades.