China recovered a Long March 10B booster after an orbital launch, testing a net-based system that could help lower launch costs and support reusable rockets.

China’s sprawling state-owned rocket developer, maker of the country’s Long March rocket family, announced it recovered a reusable orbital-class booster for the first time Friday in the South China Sea.

China successfully launched the Long March 10B carrier rocket at the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center in Wenchang in South China's Hainan province on July 10, 2026. [Photo by Wan Quan for chinadaily.

China's Long March rocket has now matched Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in returning a first-stage booster.

China has successfully recovered the first stage of its Long March 10B rocket after its maiden launch, becoming only the second country to achieve a controlled recovery of an orbital-class booster. The mission also introduced a sea-based net capture system,

The experimental "net capture" system could make future launches cheaper as China's space program closes the gap.

BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters) - China on Friday successfully tested an experimental rocket retrieval system using a net attached to a sea platform, state media reported, in the hope of breaking U.S. dominance in reusable rockets.

HELSINKI — China conducted the maiden launch of its reusable Long March 12B rocket Monday, providing no advance warning and delivering operational payloads to orbit. The first Long March 12B lifted off at 4:40 a.m. Eastern (0840 UTC) June 1 from the ...

China has successfully tested a sea-based rocket booster recovery system, retrieving the Long March 10B booster vertically on an offshore platform after launch.

Reusable rockets changed the economics of space. SpaceX turned launches into repeatable commercial operations, making new space business models viable. Lower launch costs underpin the entire space economy. Broadband, defense, and orbital infrastructure all ...