China’s rocket startup LandSpace has made no secret about drawing inspiration from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

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

That put SpaceX on alert and LandSpace is now preparing to go public to fund its future projects.

Even though LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 rocket test failed, its aspiration to become second only to SpaceX in reusable rockets is providing a fresh impetus to China’s space industry, long 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.

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 reusable Falcon 9 will play a key role in Beijing’s plans to build up 10,000 satellite constellations in the coming decades.

“Falcon 9 is a successful configuration that has been tested by engineering,” Zhuque-3’s deputy chief designer, Dong Kai, said in a podcast interview last week. “

After studying it, we recognise its rationality; this is learning, not imitation. Calling (Zhuque-3) a ‘Chinese Falcon 9,’ I think, is a very high compliment.“

Its startup culture and mimicking of SpaceX has already initiated a paradigm shift in China’s space industry.

China’s state-led space programme has historically been allergic to failed launches, in contrast to SpaceX and other Western firms that regularly broadcast their mishaps.

Earlier this month, state media covered China’s first two failed attempts at recovering a reusable rocket, with the second launch coming from a state-owned firm, just three weeks after Zhuque-3’s maiden flight.

LandSpace also opened its engine factory floor to Reuters this month, allowing foreign media to see one of its core assets for the first time.

After opening up the space sector to private money in 2014, Beijing is now looking to help leading domestic players tap into capital markets by making it easier for them to pursue IPOs.

Dai said SpaceX’s generous financial backing was a key factor in allowing the US firm to incur huge losses while testing Starship, its reusable launch vehicle.

“For us, we’re not yet able to do that,” Dai told CCTV.

“I believe our country has recognised this, allowing capital markets to support companies (in areas) like commercial space flight.”

A month before LandSpace launched Zhuque-3, SpaceX founder Musk commented on a video showing the rocket’s assembly, noting it adopted aspects of Starship and applied them to a Falcon 9-like design.

Features like stainless steel sheaths and methalox-powered engines are ways companies like SpaceX and LandSpace aim to reduce launch costs.

The most important cost-saver is the ability to launch a rocket, then return, recover and reuse its first stage.

LandSpace is preparing another launch after the December failure, when Zhuque-3’s booster crashed instead of executing a controlled landing.

SpaceX had its first successful Falcon booster landing in 2015 after two failed attempts.