China has successfully landed a reusable rocket for the first time, a milestone that signals it may soon rival the United States in cutting the cost of spaceflight. The Long March 10B rocket lifted off from Hainan in southern China at 12:15 local time (04:15 GMT) on Friday, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Around six minutes after separating from the rocket's upper stage, its booster returned to Earth vertically and was recovered on a floating platform using landing hooks that caught a net. The feat, confirmed by state media, marks China's first recovery of a rocket's first stage.
Rockets are typically considered expendable, with their segments discarded and destroyed during ascent, making launches expensive. By reusing boosters — the most valuable part of a rocket — the cost of satellite launches and space exploration can be significantly lowered. SpaceX first landed a reusable Falcon 9 rocket from an orbital flight in December 2015, followed by Blue Origin's New Glenn in November 2025. The Falcon 9 now launches about 150 times a year with boosters reused dozens of times. China made its first attempt at reusable rocket recovery in February with a Long March 10A rocket, which splashed down next to a recovery platform after a controlled descent.
“China successfully recovered the first stage of a reusable rocket, challenging US dominance in space.”
Unlike the Falcon 9, which autonomously lands on a ground pad or drone ship, the Long March 10B uses landing hooks to catch a net attached to a floating platform. The rocket's reusable configuration can carry a payload of at least 16 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, compared with the Falcon 9's 22,800 kilograms (50,265 pounds). Shares in Chinese space firms jumped following the news, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications each rising by 10%, the daily limit allowed by the country's financial market regulations.
The breakthrough suggests China is accelerating efforts to challenge America's dominance in reusable rocket technology, a sector long led by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. As launch costs fall, the competition could reshape access to space.
