Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea platform: state media
China succeeded in recovering part of its Long March-10B reusable rocket on its maiden launch on Friday, marking the country’s first controlled orbital-class booster recovery and making it only the second nation in the world to achieve the feat.
The Chinese rocket also offers a new reusable path to space flight, as Beijing doubles down on strengthening its commercial space sector amid the space race to the moon.
The 63-metre (207-foot) tall, 5-metre wide medium-lift rocket lifted off from southern China’s Wenchang space launch site at 12.15pm, sending its satellite payload into a predetermined orbit, according to Xinhua.
About six minutes after the first and second stages of the rocket separated, the first stage returned vertically and was caught by the Linghangzhe recovery platform, according to state media.
The maiden flight validated the rocket’s design for first-stage reusability and was expected to help cut launch costs, state broadcaster CCTV said.
“Reusable rockets are a crucial pathway for large-scale, free access to space in the future, supporting the trend towards lower-cost, higher-frequency space launches,” Jiang Zhou, a structural systems expert at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), told China Space News on Friday.