China flew and then recovered a new Long March rocket booster, a first for the country and a key step toward cheaper, reusable spaceflight.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Friday that the Long March-10B rocket lifted off from Hainan Province and placed whatever it was carrying — the announcement did not say — into orbit on its debut flight. After the upper part of the rocket continued toward space, the booster — the powerful first stage that does the heavy lifting at launch — turned around and flew back toward Earth.
Instead of crashing into the ocean, the booster steered itself onto a special ship at sea, where a huge net caught it and left it hanging in place. Engineers described the system as the world’s first cross-shaped, high-strength “arresting” net for rockets, paired with hooks on the booster that help it grab. You can watch a video of the booster’s catch below.
Reusing boosters can sharply cut launch costs, let rockets fly more often, and give countries an edge in the intensifying space race. The United States — especially through companies like SpaceX — has pushed reusability for years, and China is now moving to match that capability. For national space programs and private companies, flying the same hardware again and again turns space access from a rare, expensive event into something closer to routine transportation.
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