China attempted to replicate the landing of SpaceX's Falcon 9, but here's what occurred.

      The rocket successfully entered orbit, but the first-stage booster did not fare as well.

      For the past ten years, SpaceX has managed to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket effectively. This capability allows the company to reuse a single booster for multiple missions, significantly reducing launch costs and increasing the frequency of launches.

      Few other companies have attempted to replicate SpaceX’s achievement with first-stage boosters. However, Blue Origin recently celebrated a milestone when it successfully landed the main stage of its New Glenn rocket on its second attempt, following an earlier failure at the beginning of the year.

      Rocket Lab from New Zealand is pursuing a different method for booster recovery. It has created a system that deploys parachutes on a descending booster to slow it down, allowing a helicopter to catch the parachute line with a grappling hook and return it to land. The company has yet to accomplish this task.

      Now, Chinese space company LandSpace is making an attempt as well. However, their first effort to land the main stage of the Zhuque-3 rocket ended in failure this week, as shown in the video below, when the booster crashed into the ground at a high speed.

      The Zhuque-3 was on its first orbital test flight from Jiuquan in northwest China. While the rocket reached orbit successfully, the landing of the booster did not go as planned.

      "An anomaly occurred after the first-stage engine ignited during the landing phase, preventing a soft landing on the designated recovery pad," LandSpace stated in a widely reported announcement. "The debris landed at the edge of the recovery area, resulting in a failed recovery test."

      The team is now conducting a detailed evaluation of the incident and will implement changes to the system before making another attempt.

      Although disappointing for LandSpace, setbacks are common in spaceflight development. SpaceX dealt with numerous failed Falcon 9 booster landings before successfully achieving the feat, and it is likely that LandSpace will reach the same milestone soon.

      On a larger scale, SpaceX is also refining the landing process for its enormous Starship rocket, which is still in testing. In several of its test flights to date, SpaceX has successfully returned the Starship’s first-stage Super Heavy booster by capturing it just above the ground with two large mechanical arms. If you have not seen this impressive maneuver, it's definitely worth watching.

      Not long ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

      Following the launch of the 11th Starship test flight from Pad 1 at its Starbase facility in southern Texas a month ago, SpaceX engineers began dismantling the launchpad to upgrade it with a more sophisticated design. This week, NASASpaceflight released footage of a SpaceX excavator demolishing the first of four large legs that supported the pad’s Orbital Launch Mount (OLM), a heavy steel platform that fuels the Starship at the launch site. In the video, a person can be seen standing at the bottom center, adding a remarkable scale to the scene.

      Earth has never looked so beautiful as in this breathtaking ISS flyover video.

      Although there have been many ISS aurora videos over the years, this one stands out. When they're not engaged in scientific research, astronauts aboard the International Space Station enjoy taking time to gaze out of the windows at the awe-inspiring view that never ceases to amaze. Orbiting the Earth at about 250 miles above the surface and traveling at approximately 17,000 mph, those aboard the ISS witness 16 sunrises and sunsets daily. Under certain conditions, they can also experience spectacular auroras, which occur when solar particles interact with Earth's magnetic field.

      Blue Origin's rocket booster received a hero's welcome upon its return. Here’s why.

      The booster’s success marks a significant milestone for the spaceflight company.

      It's been a week since Blue Origin landed the first stage of its New Glenn rocket on a ship in the ocean. With all the celebration, social media buzz, and now a dramatic video (below), one might think it was the first time such an accomplishment had been achieved. In fact, it was.