China tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system

BEIJING:

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 US dominance in reusable rockets.

The Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China at 12:15 p.m. (0415 GMT) and, about six minutes after separation of its booster and upper stage, the booster returned vertically and was recovered on an offshore platform, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

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The test marks China's first successful retrieval of an orbital-class rocket, putting the country closer to developing reusable rockets.

The rocket had sent a satellite into preset orbit on Friday, state media said.

The Long March 10B has been compared to the Falcon 9, SpaceX's (SPCX.O), opens new tab widely used medium-lift rocket. It was developed for commercial aerospace by the country's main state rocket developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), and is capable of carrying a payload of at least 16 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.

But unlike the Falcon 9, the Long March 10B does not autonomously land on deployable legs on a ground pad or drone ship, using instead four "landing hooks" to catch the net attached to a sea platform.

"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," CALT's expert Chen Muye told state agency Xinhua.

SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 rocket from an orbital flight for the first time in December 2015, followed by Blue Origin's New Glenn in November 2025.