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China's Long March-10B First-Stage Booster Caught by Net on Sea Platform
The Long March-10B first stage returned vertically and was caught by a net on the Linghangzhe platform. South China Morning Post reported the feat on Sunday following the Friday launch.
Jul 13, 4:00 AM·1m read1 source
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China became the second nation after the United States to achieve controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster, South China Morning Post reported. The milestone occurred during the maiden launch of the reusable Long March-10B rocket on Friday.
The first-stage booster returned vertically and was caught by the Linghangzhe recovery platform, China’s first sea-based rocket recovery vessel to use a net-capture system.
The Long March-10B uses four hooks that latch onto a net suspended from the platform. The Linghangzhe was developed by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The vessel was converted from an unpowered barge.
The China-based maritime industry news platform eWorldship published a report on the recovery on Saturday. South China Morning Post published its article at 4:00pm on 13 July 2026.
