The China National Space Administration (CNSA) hailed the landing as a "major breakthrough in Chinese reusable rocket technology."
People watch as a Long March 10B carrier rocket takes off from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, before returning vertically to an offshore platform for a controlled recovery, in Hainan province, China Jul 10, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/China Daily)
11 Jul 2026 12:58AM
BEIJING: China successfully landed a reusable rocket for the first time on Friday (Jul 10), according to its space agency, marking a major step in its space ambitions and in reducing launch costs.The Asian giant may now be in a position to challenge US dominance in reusable rockets, which until now has been led by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.A Long March-10B rocket lifted off at 12:15pm from its launch site on Hainan in the country's south before placing a satellite into orbit, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.The first stage of the rocket - the lower part that provides the initial thrust needed to lift the launcher off the ground - was then recovered "via a net-capture system on a seaborne platform", the agency said.China's state broadcaster CCTV aired aerial footage showing the launcher descending before gently landing on the platform."This mission marks China's first successful controlled recovery of a carrier rocket's first stage, as well as the world's first at-sea net-based recovery of a rocket," the CNSA said. It hailed "a major breakthrough in Chinese reusable rocket technology".Unlike SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, the Long March-10B does not use landing legs."The net-based recovery system offers unique advantages," Chen Muye, a technical expert at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, was quoted as saying in the Chinese newspaper Global Times."Compared with current mainstream recovery solutions, net-based recovery is more adaptable to the landing requirements of rockets."
