Earlier today China successfully recovered the first stage of its Long March 10b rocket (as shown above and also in a CNN video). The rocket was launched from Hainan island in southern China.
Up to this point, only SpaceX and Blue Origin have been able to accomplish this feat. This means China is joining the U.S. in terms of reusable rockets at a time when it is also making strides in the race to the Moon.
The rocket test was also successful in putting a satellite into low-Earth orbit.
The Long March 10b rockets was built by a state-owned company and is an essential part of China’s plans to send a crew to China. It is also said to be part of China’s plans to put internet satellites into orbit, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink.
One interesting part of the recovery was the use of a large net on the platform. Chen Muye from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (the state-owned company) stated:
Net-based recovery simplifies the onboard structure, reduces weight and boosts payload capacity.
Maybe the US commercial space sector has a few things to learn from the Chinese.
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