China achieves first controlled recovery of Long March-10B rocket booster
China successfully launched the Long March-10B and recovered its first-stage booster at sea. The feat marks a key advance in Beijing's push to build reusable orbital launch systems.
China on Friday said it had achieved its first controlled recovery of an orbital-class reusable rocket booster after the maiden launch of its Long March-10B carrier rocket, in what state media described as a major step in the country’s reusable space technology.
The mission marked China’s first successful controlled recovery of the first stage of a carrier rocket. The Long March-10B was launched from Hainan Province in southern China and placed its payload into the designated orbit, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Xinhua said that after the first and second stages separated, the first-stage booster returned and was successfully captured on a sea-based platform using a net-capture system. The report said both the launch and the recovery of the first-stage booster were completed successfully.
A controlled recovery of a carrier rocket’s first stage involves bringing a rocket booster safely back to Earth for reuse after it delivers its payload. The development comes more than a decade after US-based SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, became the first company to successfully recover an orbital-class rocket booster in December 2015.
Last December, two other Chinese reusable rockets attempted vertical landings similar to SpaceX using grid fins and landing legs, but both attempts failed, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Unlike SpaceX, whose boosters usually land on ground-based or drone-ship landing pads, the Long March-10B’s first-stage booster was recovered at its launch site on a sea-based platform. Videos circulating on social media showed crowds cheering as the booster descended steadily onto the recovery platform.
The Long March-10B is a reusable liquid-fuelled commercial launch vehicle that is about 63 metres tall and five metres in diameter. It has a lift-off thrust of about 890 tonnes and a lift-off mass of around 760 tonnes. In its reusable configuration, the rocket can carry a payload of 16 tonnes to low-Earth orbit, according to Xinhua.
With the maiden launch completed and the first-stage booster recovered, the Long March-10B mission marked China’s first successful controlled return of a carrier rocket booster and a significant development in its reusable rocket programme.
With PTI Inputs
China on Friday said it had achieved its first controlled recovery of an orbital-class reusable rocket booster after the maiden launch of its Long March-10B carrier rocket, in what state media described as a major step in the country’s reusable space technology.
The mission marked China’s first successful controlled recovery of the first stage of a carrier rocket. The Long March-10B was launched from Hainan Province in southern China and placed its payload into the designated orbit, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Xinhua said that after the first and second stages separated, the first-stage booster returned and was successfully captured on a sea-based platform using a net-capture system. The report said both the launch and the recovery of the first-stage booster were completed successfully.
A controlled recovery of a carrier rocket’s first stage involves bringing a rocket booster safely back to Earth for reuse after it delivers its payload. The development comes more than a decade after US-based SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, became the first company to successfully recover an orbital-class rocket booster in December 2015.
Last December, two other Chinese reusable rockets attempted vertical landings similar to SpaceX using grid fins and landing legs, but both attempts failed, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Unlike SpaceX, whose boosters usually land on ground-based or drone-ship landing pads, the Long March-10B’s first-stage booster was recovered at its launch site on a sea-based platform. Videos circulating on social media showed crowds cheering as the booster descended steadily onto the recovery platform.
The Long March-10B is a reusable liquid-fuelled commercial launch vehicle that is about 63 metres tall and five metres in diameter. It has a lift-off thrust of about 890 tonnes and a lift-off mass of around 760 tonnes. In its reusable configuration, the rocket can carry a payload of 16 tonnes to low-Earth orbit, according to Xinhua.
With the maiden launch completed and the first-stage booster recovered, the Long March-10B mission marked China’s first successful controlled return of a carrier rocket booster and a significant development in its reusable rocket programme.
With PTI Inputs
