China achieved a significant milestone in its space program as it successfully recovered the first stage of a Long March-10B rocket following a recent launch. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the rocket’s first stage separated from the second stage after liftoff and safely landed on a platform in the sea.
This achievement marks the first time China has been able to retrieve the first stage of a rocket, a practice that has been pioneered by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin in recent years to reduce launch costs through booster reuse. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has conducted over 600 successful landings of its first-stage Falcon boosters, utilizing ocean barges and landing zones near launch pads. Notably, SpaceX recently set a new record with its 36th booster launch.
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, initially landed its New Shepard boosters in Texas and later recovered its larger New Glenn boosters on a floating platform off the Florida coast. With China now joining the rocket recycling trend, Japan is poised to make its own launch and recovery attempt soon.
The Long March rocket took off from Hainan Island, a well-known tourist destination in southern China. According to Xinhua, the rocket’s reusable design allows it to carry payloads of up to 16,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit (LEO). In comparison, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can carry a maximum payload of 22,800 kilograms, while the Falcon Heavy variant can lift up to 63,800 kilograms to LEO. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has a payload capacity of up to 45,000 kilograms.
In a similar endeavor, Rocket Lab USA, a smaller player in the launch industry, made headlines in 2022 by successfully retrieving its first-stage rocket using a helicopter before descending into the ocean.