Overview
- The Long March 10B lifted from Hainan on Friday and successfully placed an unnamed satellite into its planned orbit while its first stage performed a controlled descent that was caught by a ship-mounted net.
- Video and official statements show the booster used hooks to latch a tensioned net on the recovery vessel Linghang Zhe about six minutes after stage separation.
- China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation confirmed the recovery and said it intends to refurbish and reuse the same first stage before the end of 2026.
- The net-capture approach removes the need for landing legs and may lower structural mass to boost payload, but it poses different engineering and operational challenges compared with deck landings used by firms such as SpaceX.
- The success gives China a reusable-booster capability alongside U.S. firms, has already lifted aerospace stocks, and could lower launch prices for satellite constellations while providing data for China’s planned crewed lunar vehicles.