China Lands Reusable Rocket for First Time
On Friday, the Long March 10B rocket lifted off from Hainan, China, at 12:15 local time (04:15 GMT). Within six minutes of detaching its upper stage, the booster returned to Earth, landing vertically on a net‑attached floating platform on the sea.
State media hailed the event as a major breakthrough for the country’s space programme. It demonstrates that China’s long‑range launch vehicle can now be reused, a feat that traditionally speeds up future missions and cuts costs. The long‑lasting industry draft was largely defined by expendable stages that were abandoned after ascent.
In contrast, reusable boosters let companies fly satellites more affordably. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is now flown around 150 times a year and has been reused dozens of times. Blue Origin’s New Glenn also landed successfully in 2025.
China’s first attempt at reusable recovery happened in February with the Long March 10A, which performed a controlled descent and splashed down near a recovery platform. The Long March 10B can lift at least 16 metric tons into low‑Earth orbit and is compared to Falcon 9, but it lacks autonomous landing. Instead, “landing hooks” on the booster catch a net tied to a sea‑platform.
The announcement caused a surge in the stock prices of domestic space firms, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications each rising by the 10% daily cap set by Chinese financial regulators.
If China can refine these systems, it will likely challenge the United States’ lead in reusable rocket technology, opening the door for cheaper and more frequent satellite launches worldwide.
