Mission Overview

The Long March 10B lifted off at 12:15 PM Beijing time (0415 UTC) from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site in Wenchang, southern China’s Hainan Province. The rocket successfully deployed an undisclosed satellite into its preset orbit.

Approximately six minutes after the first and second stages separated, the first stage began its return journey - undergoing coasting, attitude adjustment, powered braking, and aerodynamic deceleration - before being vertically captured by the net system aboard the recovery vessel “Navigator” (领航者), as is shown in Figure 2.

Both the launch and recovery were confirmed as a complete success.

Rocket Specifications

The Long March 10B is a reusable liquid-fueled commercial launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). From unofficial info sources, Key specifications include:

• Length: ~ 70.2 m

• Diameter: 5 m

• Stages: 2

• LEO payload capacity (reusable mode):

  • 200 km: ~ 16 t
  • 450 km, 55° : ~ 13.5 t
  • 900 km, 50° : ~ 11 t

First stage is powered by seven YF-100N/P kerosene-liquid oxygen engines; second stage is powered by one YF-219 methane-liquid oxygen engine.

The Net Recovery System

Unlike the conventional landing-leg recovery method used by most reusable rockets worldwide (such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Blue Origin’s New Glenn), the Long March 10B employs a sea-based net recovery system, reducing the need for complex landing leg structures on the rocket itself.

There is an introduction article of the whole recovery process. You can also check this video to see an animated process.

There’s a clear illustration of the net recovery system in this paper, as is shown in Figure 3:

Here is the actual recovery process, recorded from this video:

What’s the black smokes?

We clearly see some black smokes coming out of the top of the first stage during the recovery process. My personal guess, out of chemical knowledge, is that: it came out of incomplete combustion of the residue kerosene fuel; it should be already considered and covered in the designing and manufacture process (controlled leakage maybe), as it didn’t lead to uncontrolled consequences, such as explosion.

Significance

This mission represents multiple historic firsts:

• China’s first successful controlled recovery of a carrier rocket’s first stage
• The world’s first successful net-system recovery of a launch vehicle

The net recovery approach offers several advantages over traditional landing-leg systems: it simplifies onboard structure, reduces rocket weight, increases payload capacity, and demonstrates strong adaptability to landing deviations by effectively “enlarging” the capture window through coordinated net operations.