Hainan
\nChina on Friday successfully tested an experimental rocket retrieval system using a net attached to a sea platform, state media reported, in the hope of breaking US dominance in reusable rockets.
\nThe Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China at 12:15pm (9:15am PKT) and, about six minutes after separation of its booster and upper stage, the booster returned vertically and was recovered on an offshore platform, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
\nThe test marks China\u2019s first successful retrieval of an orbital-class rocket, putting the country closer to developing reusable rockets.
\nThe rocket had sent a satellite into preset orbit on Friday, state media said.
\nShares in Chinese aerospace firms jumped on the news, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications hitting daily limits.
\nThe Long March 10B has been compared to the Falcon 9, SpaceX\u2019s widely used medium-lift rocket. It was developed for commercial aerospace by the country\u2019s main state rocket developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), and is capable of carrying a payload of at least 16 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
\nBut unlike the Falcon 9, the Long March 10B does not autonomously land on deployable legs on a ground pad or drone ship, using instead four \u201clanding hooks\u201d to catch the net attached to a sea platform.
\n\u201cNet-based recovery helps simplify the rocket\u2019s onboard structure, reduces vehicle mass and increases payload capacity.
\nIt is also highly adaptable to landing-point deviations, as coordinated net systems can effectively expand the capture window,\u201d CALT\u2019s expert Chen Muye told state agency Xinhua.
\nSpaceX landed a Falcon 9 rocket from an orbital flight for the first time in December 2015, followed by Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn in November 2025.
\nBy now, SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 launches around 150 times a year, or roughly three times a week, with its booster reused dozens of times as needed. The engine-packed booster is generally viewed as the most valuable part of a rocket.
\nChina has spent nearly a decade developing reusable rocket technologies, from early low-altitude hover tests to orbital-class booster recovery attempts in recent years. A system of reusable rockets will lower launch costs for China\u2019s rapidly expanding commercial satellite constellations.
\nPrivate Chinese firms are also stepping up efforts to test their reusable rockets amid intense global competition to acquire the technology, and China has eased IPO rules for firms developing reusable rockets to help them raise funding.
\nTwo attempts by private Chinese firm LandSpace and state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation last year failed to complete the crucial final step of landing and booster recovery.
\nAs part of the Long March 10 family being developed for China\u2019s crewed lunar missions before 2030, the Long March 10B could also provide data and validate technologies relevant to the broader lunar programme.
\nChina plans to use the Long March 10B\u2019s booster stage again for another launch by the end of this year, CCTV said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hainan China on Friday successfully tested an experimental rocket retrieval system using a net attached to a sea platform, state media reported, in the hope of breaking US dominance in reusable rockets. The Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China at 12:15pm (9:15am PKT) and, about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n