China succeeded in recovering the reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of the Long March 10B on Friday.The 70-metre (230-foot) tall, 5-metre wide medium-lift rocket lifted off from southern China’s Wenchang space launch site at 12.15pm.The 70-metre-tall, 5-metre-wide medium-lift rocket lifted off from southern China’s Wenchang space launch site at 12.15pm before being recovered via a sea platform. Photo: CCTVSoon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea-based net platform, according to state news agency Xinhua.The two-stage Long March 10B’s first stage is powered by seven YF-100K engines that burn kerosene and liquid oxygen. The rocket can deliver up to 16 tonnes to low Earth orbit and is mainly designed for cargo missions.The flight on Friday aimed to validate key technologies for the more powerful crewed lunar variant, Long March 10, Photo: Weibo/空天逐梦As the first orbital test of the Long March 10 family, the flight on Friday aimed to validate key technologies for the more powerful crewed lunar variant, Long March 10, which will use 21 YF-100K engines at lift-off to launch Chinese astronauts and a lunar lander towards the moon before 2030.