China lands reusable rocket stage for first time

China's space agency said it recovered a reusable rocket stage for the first time on July 10, after a Long March-10B rocket launched from Hainan and placed a satellite into orbit.

The China National Space Administration said the rocket lifted off at 12:15 pm local time from the southern island province. It said the first stage, the lower section that provides the initial thrust, was recovered by a net-capture system on a seaborne platform.

CCTV aired aerial footage showing the launcher descending before landing on the platform. CNSA said the mission was China's first controlled recovery of a carrier rocket's first stage and the world's first at-sea net-based recovery of a rocket.

Unlike SpaceX's Falcon 9, the Long March-10B does not use landing legs. Chen Muye, a technical expert at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told the Global Times that the net system could reduce onboard structure and weight, which could help payload capacity and operating efficiency.

Reusable rocket technology can reduce the cost of launching satellites and spacecraft. The Long March-10 series is intended for China's future crewed missions to the Moon.