Eu Day Light

According to CCTV, the reusable Long March-10B launch vehicle was launched for the first time from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province.

The report said that after the rocket's first and second stages separated, the first stage was recovered in a controlled manner using a net capture system mounted on a sea platform. It noted that this marked the first time China had successfully carried out the controlled recovery of the first stage of a launch vehicle.

Hao Jinjie, a researcher at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said that the Long March-10B was developed primarily for the commercial space market and that the net capture system is intended to increase the rocket's payload capacity.

According to CCTV, the Long March-10B has a liftoff thrust of about 890 tons and a liftoff mass of 760 tons, enabling it to carry up to 16 tons of payload into low Earth orbit in its reusable configuration. The report also noted that the net capture system was used in this field for the first time in the world.