China has successfully conducted a test with a reusable rocket for the first time. It landed safely, marking a major progress for Beijing’s space program.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that the Long March 10B rocket took off on Friday from Hainan, in southern China, at 12:15 local time (04:15 GMT). About six minutes after separating from the rocket’s upper stage, its booster returned to Earth in a vertical position and was recovered on a floating platform, as reported by BBC.
This success suggests that Beijing could challenge the US supremacy in the field of reusable rockets, following the previous successes of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos.
Usually, rockets are considered expendable – their segments being abandoned and destroyed during ascent – making space launches costly.
By reusing boosters – generally considered the most valuable component of a rocket – the costs of satellite launches and space exploration can be significantly reduced, as noted by the source.
In December 2015, SpaceX achieved the first landing of a reusable Falcon 9 rocket after an orbital flight, a performance followed by Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket in November 2025.
Currently, the Falcon 9 rocket is launched about 150 times a year, using boosters that can be reused dozens of times.
China conducted the first test with a reusable rocket in February, using a Long March 10A rocket. It performed a controlled descent and landed near a recovery platform.
The Long March 10B model, capable of carrying a payload of at least 16 tons into low Earth orbit, has been compared to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. However, unlike Falcon 9, Long March 10B does not autonomously land on a ground platform or a ship-platform; instead, "catch hooks" mounted on the rocket hook onto a net attached to a floating platform.
Chinese space sector companies' stocks surged following the announcement, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications each registering a 10% appreciation – the daily limit allowed by the financial market regulations in the country.
T.D.