The South China Morning Post front-page report stated that with China successfully capturing a rocket booster and achieving net propulsion, the recovery of the first stage of the Long March 10B's inaugural flight has opened a new path in the global space race.

China became the second country in history yesterday to achieve controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster.

Previously, during the first launch of the Long March 10B reusable rocket, China successfully recovered part of its components.

Differing from the method pioneered by Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the United States, China’s rocket made use of a unique sea-based net capture system for the first time, enabling a more adaptable recovery. Amid China’s intensified efforts to strengthen its commercial space sector and the increasingly fierce global lunar exploration competition, this development offers a new reusable pathway for spaceflight.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the medium-lift rocket—63 meters tall and 5 meters wide—launched yesterday at 12:15 p.m. from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern China, delivering its satellite payload into the designated orbit. About six minutes after separation between the first and second stages, the first stage returned vertically and was captured by the "Lingyunzhe" recovery platform, Xinhua reported.

CCTV, the state broadcaster, said this maiden flight validated the design of the reusable first stage, which is expected to help reduce launch costs. Liang Zhou (phonetic), a structural systems expert at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told China Space News: “Reusable rockets are a key pathway toward large-scale, free access to space in the future, helping drive the trend toward low-cost and high-frequency space launches.” The first stage of the two-stage Long March 10B is powered by seven YF-100K engines burning kerosene and liquid oxygen. The rocket can deliver up to 16 tons of payload into low Earth orbit, primarily for cargo missions.

Chen Muye (phonetic), a technical expert at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told Xinhua that the Long March 10B is mainly aimed at China’s commercial market, suitable for deploying satellite internet constellations and large commercial satellites.

In February this year, China used partial components from another variant in the series—the Long March 10A—to successfully conduct a mid-flight abort test for the crewed lunar spacecraft “Mengzhou.” The test achieved controlled descent and splashdown near a recovery vessel, raising expectations for yesterday’s flight. This mission marks China’s first attempt to master reusable rocket recovery technology—a crucial step toward reducing costs, enhancing launch capacity, and boosting international competitiveness in the nation’s space sector.

Differing from SpaceX’s approach of having rockets land using their own legs, the Long March 10B employs a sea-based net-and-rope system. During atmospheric re-entry, the first stage decelerates by firing its engines and utilizing aerodynamic control surfaces before descending into the recovery system.

During the final landing phase, the net system absorbs the remaining kinetic energy of the rocket and further slows it down to achieve a soft landing. “The net-based recovery method simplifies the rocket’s structure, reduces its weight, and increases payload capacity; it also demonstrates strong tolerance for deviations in landing points and can effectively ‘expand’ the capture window through coordinated action within the net system,” Chen said. Both SpaceX and Rocket Lab have previously tested methods involving nets or helicopters to catch returning rocket stages, but abandoned them due to operational challenges.

At a hearing held last April by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, General B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force, stated that while the United States still leads globally in launch capabilities, he warned that competitors could quickly close the gap. “Once other nations begin leveraging reusable capabilities, they will start catching up and able to use space in different ways for different missions,” he said. “China’s investments in reusable launch vehicles and on-orbit refueling represent a turning point in access to space, potentially allowing China to surpass the United States in leadership in this domain."

As the first orbital test of the Long March 10 series, yesterday’s flight aims to verify critical technologies for the more powerful crewed lunar version, Long March 10, which will use 21 YF-100K engines to send Chinese astronauts and lunar landers to the Moon by 2030.

NASA also aims to return American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo missions in 1972, targeting 2028.

Posts on Chinese social media indicate that a second Zhuque-3 rocket may attempt vertical landing again within the coming weeks, while full flights of the Long March 10A are expected later this year.

According to CCTV, another test flight using the reusable booster recovered yesterday is also expected later this year.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870372936740876/

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