China successfully tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system
The test used a sea-based net-capture system and marks China’s first successful first-stage recovery, state media said.
- On Friday, China successfully tested an experimental rocket retrieval system, recovering a Long March 10B booster on a sea platform six minutes after liftoff from Hainan, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
- China has spent nearly a decade developing reusable rocket technologies to lower launch costs for satellite constellations, following failed recovery attempts by Private Chinese firms and state-owned firms last year.
- Unlike SpaceX's Falcon 9, which lands on deployable legs, the Long March uses 'landing hooks' to catch a net on a sea platform, recovering the engine-packed booster viewed as the most valuable rocket component.
- Shares in Chinese aerospace firms China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications jumped following the test, while China plans to reuse the recovered booster for another launch by year's end.
- As part of the Long March 10 family developed for crewed lunar missions before 2030, this successful test provides critical data to validate technologies relevant to the broader Chinese lunar programme.
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210 Articles
China caught a rocket with a giant net at sea and changed the rules of the space game.
China Caught a Falling Rocket Booster in a Giant Net at Sea on Its Maiden Flight, Using Four Hooks Instead of Landing Legs, and Says the Same Stage Will Fly Again Before 2026 Ends
Long March 10B can lift 16 tons to orbit in reusable mode. China says the net-caught booster will fly again before year-end.
On July 10, 2026, China caught the falling first stage of a Long March 10B in a net strung across a ship at sea, becoming only the second nation ever to recover an orbital-class booster, and it now plans to fly the very same stage again before the year is out
Early Friday, over the South China Sea, the first stage of a Long March 10B rocket fell back through the sky, deployed four hooks, and let itself be caught by a net strung across the deck of a waiting ship. With that catch, China became only the second country to bring an orbital-class booster back intact, and the first anywhere to do it with a net rather than landing legs. The recovery, announced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Co…
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayChina takes a giant leap towards cheaper space launches as reusable rocket returns home
BEIJING, July 11 — China has successfully recovered a reusable rocket for the first time, marking a major milestone in its push to cut launch costs and close the gap with US space leaders.The breakthrough could put Beijing in a stronger position to challenge the reusable rocket dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.A Long March-10B rocket blasted off at 12.15pm (0415 GMT) from Hainan in southern China before sending a satel…
China Catches Its First Orbital Booster at Sea, Narrowing the Gap With SpaceX
China pulled off a striking feat on Friday. Its Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site. Roughly six minutes after stage separation the booster returned vertically and settled onto an offshore platform. A net fitted with hooks snared it cleanly. State broadcaster CCTV captured the moment. Cheers erupted in mission control. This marks the first time any nation besides the United States has recovered an orbita…
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