China tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system

BEIJING: China on Friday carried out a successful test of an experimental sea-based system to recover a rocket booster, according to state media, in a step aimed at advancing the country’s reusable launch technology.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that the Long March 10B lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China at 12:15pm local time, or 0415 GMT. About six minutes after the booster separated from the rocket’s upper stage, it descended vertically and was recovered on an offshore platform. State media also said the rocket placed a satellite into a preset orbit during the mission.

The test was described as China’s first successful recovery of an orbital-class rocket, bringing it closer to the development of reusable launch vehicles. Shares of Chinese aerospace companies rose after the announcement, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications reaching their daily trading limits.

Net-based recovery method

The Long March 10B has drawn comparisons with SpaceX’s Falcon 9, a medium-lift rocket widely used in commercial launches. Developed for the commercial space sector by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, or CALT, the rocket can carry at least 16 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.

Unlike the Falcon 9, however, the Long March 10B does not return using deployable landing legs on a pad or drone ship. Instead, it uses four landing hooks to catch a net mounted on a sea platform.

Explaining the approach, CALT expert Chen Muye told Xinhua:

Net-based recovery helps simplify the rocket's onboard structure, reduces vehicle mass and increases payload capacity. It is also highly adaptable to landing-point deviations, as coordinated net systems can effectively expand the capture window,

China has spent nearly 10 years working on reusable rocket technologies, progressing from early low-altitude hovering tests to more recent efforts to recover orbital-class boosters. A reusable rocket system is expected to reduce launch costs for the country’s fast-growing commercial satellite constellations.

Competition in reusable launch technology

SpaceX achieved the first landing of a Falcon 9 booster from an orbital flight in December 2015. Reuters also reported that Blue Origin followed with New Glenn in November 2025. SpaceX now launches Falcon 9 missions around 150 times annually, or about three times a week, with boosters being reused many times. The booster, packed with engines, is generally considered the most valuable part of a rocket.

Private Chinese companies are also increasing efforts to test reusable rockets amid intensifying international competition in the field. China has also relaxed initial public offering rules for companies developing reusable rockets to help them secure funding.

Last year, two recovery attempts by private firm LandSpace and the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation failed to complete the final landing and booster retrieval phase. CCTV said China plans to use the Long March 10B booster again in another launch before the end of this year.

As part of the Long March 10 family being developed for China’s crewed lunar missions before 2030, the Long March 10B could also help provide data and verify technologies linked to the wider moon programme.