Japanese netizens praise China's successful rocket booster recovery

Reuters (Japanese edition), July 10: On the 10th, China successfully tested its experimental rocket recovery system using a maritime platform. The goal is to challenge America's dominant position in reusable rockets.

The "Changzheng-10B" rocket landed on a water-based recovery platform at 12:15 p.m. local time (1:15 p.m. Japan time). The rocket was launched from the Hainan Commercial Aerospace Launch Site. After separation from the first stage, the booster descended vertically and was successfully recovered on a maritime platform about six minutes later. This marks China's first successful recovery of a launch vehicle booster.

The "Changzheng-10B" was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a state-owned rocket development institution.

The rocket has the capability to deliver at least 16 tons of payload into low Earth orbit and is often compared to SpaceX's medium-lift Falcon 9 rocket.

The Falcon 9 launches approximately 150 times per year—about three times weekly—and its boosters are reused dozens of times as needed.

China has been developing reusable rocket technology for nearly a decade. In 2025, private company Lanjian Aerospace Technologies launched its next-generation rocket, "Zhūquè 3," but failed to recover the booster.

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Comments from Japanese netizens:

“China’s successful recovery of the booster this time is truly impressive. They are steadily advancing toward the challenge of reusable rockets, demonstrating their high-level technical capabilities and development prowess. By persistently tackling difficult challenges, they are driving large-scale space development. Japanese people must accept this reality: China is indeed a leading advanced superpower.”

“China’s aerospace development capabilities have now reached the world’s forefront, far surpassing Japan’s current level. The continuous successful rocket launches and overwhelming satellite deployment plans clearly showcase China’s scientific and technological strength and the robustness of its national strategy. China’s progress cannot be stopped by anyone.”

“Entering space and acquiring more energy resources will free humanity from competition over Earth’s limited resources. The projects currently underway in China aim to break barriers to human future development, eliminate unnecessary conflicts among people, and advance exploration of the vast universe.”

“China’s recovery technology is groundbreaking, fundamentally different from SpaceX’s approach, significantly reducing recovery risks and costs.”

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870321411261449/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.