Six minutes after the Long March-10B left the pad on July 10, its first stage dropped onto a ship’s cable net in waters off Hainan and stayed there. Chinese state media called it the world’s first rocket recovery by net, and China’s first booster recovery at sea.
The rocket lifted off at 12:15 p.m. from launch pad No.2 at the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center, CGTN reported. A satellite reached its planned orbit. The booster went to the recovery vessel Linghangzhe, which means Pathfinder.
How the catch works
Most reusable boosters set down on deployable landing legs. This one does not. China’s design hands much of the job to equipment on the recovery platform instead.
As the booster comes down, a hook on the rocket extends and meets tensioned cables on the vessel. The cables slow it and then take up the remaining energy of the fall, which cuts the load on the airframe. Auxiliary cables next hold the stage against movement from waves and wind. Finally an automated locking platform slides underneath and clamps it in place for the trip back.
People’s Daily, citing experts at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, described what the first stage did in under six minutes. After stage separation it was still climbing. It turned itself around in midair during the glide phase, then relit its engines to brake. Grid fins added air resistance to bleed off more speed. Just before the end, the rocket deployed its hooks at a preset altitude and was caught by several crisscrossed cables.
The experts compared the sequence to “an extreme gymnastics routine.”
Why a net, and why at sea
The academy’s experts said the net approach simplifies the rocket. With no heavy landing legs to carry, the vehicle weighs less and can lift more. A net also tolerates some error in where the booster arrives, and the system can be built in modules to suit rockets of different sizes.
They gave two reasons for catching offshore rather than on land. The sea fits the launch trajectory from the Wenchang-area site, and open water is safer. A mobile platform can also shift position. The trade-off is difficulty: the rocket and ship have to coordinate precisely while both are moving.
The vehicle
The Long March-10B is a two-stage rocket, 5 meters across and about 63 meters long on this first flight. Liftoff mass is about 760 tonnes and liftoff thrust about 890 tonnes. Seven liquid oxygen-kerosene engines power the booster, which shares its core with the Long March-10A. The upper stage burns liquid oxygen and methane.
In reusable form it can place 16 tonnes in low-Earth orbit. Its developers say that suits large satellite constellations and other commercial launches.
The road to the catch
Linghangzhe was delivered in December 2025. On February 11, 2026, a low-altitude test of the Long March-10 brought the first stage down by splashdown at sea, a rehearsal for the recovery process before a full capture was tried.
The development team said the maiden flight also validated booster recovery, sea-based capture and a full-profile mission. Engineers plan to keep refining the technology and aim to fly a recovered booster again by the end of the year.
Sources
- China achieves reusable rocket breakthrough with Long March-10B
- China's Sea-Based Rocket Recovery: A Historic Milestone
