China Lands Rocket During an Orbital Launch For First Time (space.com)
(Saturday July 11, 2026 @03:00AM (BeauHD)
from the making-history dept.)
- Reference: 0184395796
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/07/10/1840220/china-lands-rocket-during-an-orbital-launch-for-first-time
- Source link: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/making-history-china-lands-rocket-during-an-orbital-launch-for-1st-time-ever
China [1]successfully recovered an orbital rocket booster for the first time , landing the Long March 10B's first stage into a net-equipped sea platform after its maiden launch. "This mission marks my country's first successful controlled recovery of a launch vehicle and the world's first network-based recovery of a launch vehicle," the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced via social media shortly after the launch. (Translation by Google.) "It signifies a historic breakthrough for my country in the field of reusable rocket technology and will lay a solid foundation for accelerating the improvement of my country's space access capabilities." Space.com reports:
> The Long March 10B is a two-stage rocket that stands about 207 feet (63 meters) tall, according to the state-owned CASC, the main contractor for China's space program. The vehicle's first stage burns kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, whereas the second stage uses LOX and liquid methane. In reusable mode, the Long March 10B can loft about 16 tons of payload to low Earth orbit.
>
> And the rocket flew with a payload on its debut liftoff -- a satellite that successfully reached "its predetermined orbit," according to the CASC update. That post did not provide any details about the spacecraft or its orbit. It did give a brief rundown of the first-stage recovery, however. "Approximately 6 minutes after the first and second stages separated, the first stage returned vertically and was successfully recovered at a sea-based recovery platform using a net system," CASC officials wrote, noting that launch occurred from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on Friday at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT; 12:15 p.m. Beijing time.) "The launch and first-stage recovery missions were a complete success."
[1] https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/making-history-china-lands-rocket-during-an-orbital-launch-for-1st-time-ever
> The Long March 10B is a two-stage rocket that stands about 207 feet (63 meters) tall, according to the state-owned CASC, the main contractor for China's space program. The vehicle's first stage burns kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, whereas the second stage uses LOX and liquid methane. In reusable mode, the Long March 10B can loft about 16 tons of payload to low Earth orbit.
>
> And the rocket flew with a payload on its debut liftoff -- a satellite that successfully reached "its predetermined orbit," according to the CASC update. That post did not provide any details about the spacecraft or its orbit. It did give a brief rundown of the first-stage recovery, however. "Approximately 6 minutes after the first and second stages separated, the first stage returned vertically and was successfully recovered at a sea-based recovery platform using a net system," CASC officials wrote, noting that launch occurred from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on Friday at 12:15 a.m. EDT (0415 GMT; 12:15 p.m. Beijing time.) "The launch and first-stage recovery missions were a complete success."
[1] https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/making-history-china-lands-rocket-during-an-orbital-launch-for-1st-time-ever
phrasing, subby. (Score:1)
They didn't land it; they caught it in a net. It had hooks, not landing pads or struts. Accuracy would have given you the chance to double-up on 'net', as in "China Netted a Win", or "A Net Win for Reusable Rockets", but you took the lazy and inaccurate "landed." No mod point for you! As if I had any that could apply to a submission title.
Re: (Score:3)
Is that better or worse? I was under the impression that most people find the catching of a rocket booster like SpaceX does with those little arms to be more awesome than just landing the booster.
I also thought that outside of having to land on Mars it is the preferred approach because it is more efficient.
Finally: Caught it in a net conjures up the wrong image. If you look at the video the 'net' is much more like the mechazilla arms and not some fishing net they plop the booster into: [1]https://www.youtube.c [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KbqTFxc6z4
Re: (Score:2)
Are you subby? You don't have to be so defensive. The first point you make is subjective opinion: I think landing is more impressive, . The second point is debatable, which I am happy to explore. Isn't a water landing easier than a million-dollar high-tech tower? How about proposing a more accurate phrasing for your third point, such as "Caught" or "Grabbed" rather than the still inaccurate "Landed"?
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
Nobody likes a smartass. You just qualified for that role. Terrestrially, the thing that matters is that they get it back, intact and with reasonable effort. Everything else is immaterial. And you are insisting on the immaterial part.
Re: (Score:1)
It's mostly better. While the barge has to be a bit more complex because it has to have the lattice of ropes (it's not a net), it means that the booster doesn't have to have landing struts. That's a significant weight saving, which means less propellant needed too.
It likely also means that the system is less dependent on good weather, and better able to recover from small issues that would tip self supporting boosters over. IIRC the Blue Origin system actually welds itself to the deck when it lands to help
Re: (Score:2)
Never, ever, take a medication holiday without prior authorization from your psychiatrist and certainly not when you're outside the padded room and have access to the internet.
Re: (Score:2)
Other responses to my post have merit. You're just being an asshole.
Re: (Score:2)
And in actual reality, all that matters is "they got it back, basically intact". Accuracy without effect and meaning is not useful. In fact, it is of negative use as it obscures important aspects.
Incidentally, the Japanese just concluded a successful test flight just now (not a full mission). Seems this tech is now within reach for anybody with advanced engineering capabilities.
Re: (Score:2)
Worse, IMHO, they quote without correction this phrase "the world's first network-based recovery of a launch vehicle" where it is clear that "network" is a mistranslation.