China Successfully Tests Sea-Based Rocket Capture System
The Chinese government has reportedly succeeded in testing an experimental rocket retrieval system using a net mounted on a sea platform on Friday. The Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China at 12.15 local time. Approximately six minutes after the separation of the booster and the upper stage, the booster returned vertically and was successfully caught by the offshore platform.
The test marks China’s first success in recovering an orbital-class rocket, bringing the country closer to developing reusable rocket technology. The announcement immediately triggered a surge in Chinese aerospace stocks on the stock market, with shares of China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications hitting their daily upper limit.
The Long March 10B is often compared to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, a widely used medium-lift launch vehicle. Designed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the Long March 10B is intended for commercial use and is capable of carrying a payload of at least 16 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Unlike the Falcon 9, which lands autonomously using landing legs on land or a drone ship, the Long March 10B employs a unique method using a ‘landing hook’ to catch a net on the sea platform.
China has spent nearly a decade developing reusable rocket technology, progressing from low-altitude hover tests to orbital-class booster recovery attempts. The availability of a reusable system is expected to significantly reduce the cost of launching China’s rapidly expanding commercial satellite constellations. In addition to state-owned entities, private Chinese companies are also intensifying their rocket testing efforts amid fierce global competition, aided by relaxed IPO rules from the Beijing government to facilitate funding. Two similar recovery attempts last year by private firm LandSpace and the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation failed to complete the crucial booster recovery stage.
The Long March 10B is part of the Long March 10 family being developed for China’s crewed lunar missions before 2030, and this project also serves to provide critical data for the broader moon programme. Authorities have confirmed that further steps in this strategic programme will be rolled out soon, with plans to reuse the first-stage booster from this test for another launch later this year.