BEIJING, July 10 — The Long March 10B, China’s first liquid-fueled rocket with a reusable first stage, has achieved a successful recovery, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s space ambitions. The vehicle uses kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants, the same combination as SpaceX’s Falcon 9, and employs grid fins and throttleable engines for precision landing — a design approach similar to the Falcon 9’s pioneering architecture.
Figures show the Long March 10B’s payload capacity stands at 14 metric tons to low Earth orbit, compared with the Falcon 9’s 22.8 metric tons. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first landed a booster in December 2015, while Blue Origin’s New Shepard, a suborbital reusable rocket, achieved its first landing a month earlier in November 2015.
As of 2024, Falcon 9 had completed over 300 booster landings. The Long March 10B, by contrast, remains in early testing. According to the source, reusability could cut launch costs per kilogram from $5,000 — typical for Chinese expendable rockets — to $3,500.
That figure compares with SpaceX’s estimated $2,700 per kilogram. The cost reduction, while not yet matching SpaceX’s efficiency, represents a material shift for China’s launch economics and supply-chain planning.
China’s first reusable rocket test was a suborbital hop in 2020 with the Long March 8R. The Long March 10B’s successful recovery is a milestone for China’s stated goal of fielding a fully reusable heavy-lift rocket by 2030. The Long March 10B’s payload capacity of 14 metric tons to LEO positions it for medium-class satellite launches and crewed missions, though its lift is less than the Falcon 9’s 22.8 metric tons.
For heavier payloads, China is developing a super-heavy rocket intended to be fully reusable by 2030. The successful recovery of the Long March 10B’s first stage is a concrete step toward that goal. It demonstrates that Chinese engineers have mastered the controlled descent and landing sequence that has become standard for SpaceX but remains rare elsewhere.
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