In brief
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that its Long March 10B rocket achieved a controlled descent and landed on a floating platform 6 minutes after stage separation. This marks the first reusable rocket landing by a Chinese state‑owned company, bringing China nearer to matching SpaceX and Blue Origin’s track record. The event may reduce launch costs dramatically, as boosters that can be reused dozens of times lower the price per kilogram to orbit. Shares of Chinese space firms surged after the news, reflecting investor confidence in the new technology.
China has taken a giant leap in space technology, landing its Long March 10B booster for the first time. According to state media, the rocket lifted off from Hainan’s coast at 12:15 local time, and six minutes later its booster returned to Earth, landing safely on a floating platform.
The move signals that China might soon compete with the United States in reusable launch vehicles, a field pioneered by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin. Reusability cuts the cost of satellite launches dramatically, reducing the need for disposable stages.
SpaceX first landed a Falcon 9 booster in December 2015, and Blue Origin followed with the New Glenn in November 2025. Prices for delivering payloads to low‑Earth orbit (LEO) have fallen accordingly. China’s Long March 10B can carry up to 16 metric‑tons to LEO, a capacity comparable to Falcon 9.
Unlike SpaceX’s autonomous landing, the Long March 10B uses “landing hooks” that snag a net attached to a floating platform, allowing for controlled descent without a ground pad.
The news spurred a sharp rise in Chinese space‑sector stocks, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications each jumping 10 %. The limits on gains are dictated by China’s financial regulations.
