Chinas first recovered booster returns to port as LandSpace aims for first land recovery

Date:
Wed, 15 Jul 2026 18:57:14 +0000

Description:
China reached a major milestone less than a week ago with the first
successful recovery The post Chinas first recovered booster returns to port
as LandSpace aims for first land recovery appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

China reached a major milestone less than a week ago with the first
successful recovery of an orbital-class booster, using a novel cable-net
catch system at sea.

Two years ago this week, LandSpace set a different record when its ZhuQue-2 became the first methane-powered launcher to reach orbit. The company now hopes to achieve another milestone in the coming weeks, securing the countrys first successful propulsive landing on solid ground.



Chinas Chang Zheng 10B (CZ-10B) has joined the elite handful of orbital-class vehicles that have been successfully recovered by a method other than splashdown. This group includes first-stage boosters from the Falcon family, Starship, and New Glenn. Chang Zheng 10B launches from Commercial Pad LC-2 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on July 10 (Credit: CCTV)

On July 10th at 04:15 UTC, the vehicle lifted off from the second commercial launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Chinas south coast island
of Hainan. Seven YF-100K engines burning liquid kerosene and oxygen propelled the vehicle for about two and a half minutes before stage separation.

The second stage, propelled by a single methane-powered YF-219 engine, deployed an experimental CX-26 satellite into an 800 km low-Earth orbit.

The first stage briefly conducted an entry burn using three engines before using its four grid fins to make a controlled entry and precision return to the recovery ship, which was waiting in the South China Sea, roughly 430 km downrange. The Linghangzhe (or Pathfinder) is the first to be outfitted with
a cubic raised frame structure and moveable tensioned steel cables. Stage separation of the Chang Zheng 10B (Credit: CCTV)

Almost ten minutes after liftoff, the booster approached the Linghangzhe , igniting three engines and then downselecting to one as it conducted a controlled hover and gradual descent into the center of the frame. The mechanisms net-like system uses moveable cables that afford tens of meters of tolerance in two directions.

As impressive as this maiden flight was, it remained a demonstration flight, and there will be refinements to make as a result. As the vehicle descended, smoke was seen venting around the interstage, and the prolonged hover
maneuver would have consumed a fair amount of propellant. This is something the team will no doubt improve on the next iteration as they dial in the landing profile, as it can have a significant impact on the potential payload mass that can be carried to orbit. The absence of landing legs already
reduces the dry mass of the vehicle.

The mission demonstrated the effectiveness of the net catch system, in which four arresting hooks attached to the booster snag the cables as it descends between them. These cables are guided by a Light Detection and Ranging
(LIDAR) system situated in the corners of the framework, communicating with actuators to reposition the cables. Damping systems in each corner absorb the vertical energy as the stage shuts down the engines and drops, leaving it suspended above the deck. The implementation of LIDAR on the cable-net recovery system (Credit: Hao et al./Wikipedia)

To secure it for the voyage back to port, additional cables on the bottom
move to either side of the stage, overlapping each other to ensure it remains stable. The Linghangzhe returned to Sanya port on July 14 to begin the
process of offloading the stage.

Linghangzhe is the first droneship of its kind, measuring around 144 m long and 50 m wide, and was pulled by tug to the recovery area. This same catch system could also later support recoveries on land from other inland launch sites. The mission was monitored by a team of 47 personnel aboard the Shen
Kuo command ship and two additional support vessels.

The fleets departure had been delayed to shelter from Typhoon Maysak, which crossed Hainan in early July. The team continued to monitor the potential impacts of Typhoon Bavi near the recovery area on launch day, with Force 6 winds and two-meter seas described as being close to the operations permitted limits. The team aboard the Shen Kuo command ship (Credit: CCTV)

The mission also proved the engines ability to restart several times, validated the robustness of the vehicle in flight, and the autogenous pressurization on the upper stage. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CAST) has already declared its intention to refly this first
stage before the end of the year. The launcher had completed a wet dress rehearsal back in April, but the mission had been delayed while teams addressed hydraulic issues at the pad.

From a reusable-launch perspective, this debut arguably surpassed that of New Glenn, which also deployed its payload to orbit but was unable to return its first stage for a successful recovery until its second mission. This said, CAST had the benefit of flying a prototype of this booster earlier on Feb.
11.

That stage conducted a suborbital flight, carrying the Mengzhou capsule for a successful in-flight abort test, using only five of the engines. Following separation, the booster had precisely guided itself to a specified location where it made a controlled vertical splashdown alongside the Linghangzhe , enabling teams to rehearse and verify systems and processes. Chang Zheng 10B approaches the catch system aboard the Linghangzhe (Credit: CCTV)

This months successful mission has verified the performance of the first stage, which will be shared between this vehicle and the Chang Zheng 10A (CZ-10A). This interchangeable modular approach will enable these boosters to support a number of missions across the two vehicle variants, including the potential to further build out the Qianfan and Guowang internet constellations. Despite manufacturing of the satellites increasing, these two megaconstellations currently remain limited by the availability of launchers.

The CZ-10B stands around seven meters shorter than the Falcon 9 at 63 m, and is officially rated to carry around 16,000 kg to a standard low-Earth orbit when recovering its first stage. This is broadly comparable to 90% of the capacity carried by SpaceXs established workhorse in its reusable configuration. The rocket has been positioned as a cargo variation of the four-meter taller CZ-10A, which will be human-rated and is intended to carry crew aboard the Mengzhou capsule to the Tiangong space station in the future.

The CZ-10 family will all share a common five-meter diameter core structure, compared to the 3.7 m Falcon 9, utilizing common interfaces, avionics, and production lines. Their upper stages differ, however, with the CZ-10Bs second stage burning methane and oxygen, whereas the CZ-10A flies an upper stage powered by a YF-100M vacuum-optimized liquid kerosene engine. The pair will eventually be joined by an entirely methane-powered CZ-10C, utilizing the upper stage of the CZ-10B and a new, larger first stage, which is currently under development. Chang Zheng 10B booster is seen descending towards the recovery ship (Credit: CCTV)

Chinas lunar campaign will feature two launches of the taller Chang Zheng 10, which will stand at least 90 m tall. Each will separately carry a Mengzhou capsule and a Lanyue lander. This variant will use three cores on its first stage, each powered by seven YF-100K kerosene engines, a second stage with
two YF-100M vacuum engines, and a third, high-energy lunar injection stage, which is powered by three YF-75E engines burning liquid hydrogen and oxygen. See Also Chinese Spaceflight Forum NSF Store Click here to Join L2

Julys successful recovery was the countrys third attempt to recover an orbital-class booster. Two previous attempts to propulsively land a first stage on a landing pad took place within weeks of each other in December
2025. The most recent, on Dec. 23, saw the first stage of a Chang Zheng 12A experience abnormal combustion during the landing burn, resulting in the
stage crashing into the ground near the pad.

LandSpace had earlier conducted a successful maiden launch of the stainless steel ZhuQue-3 (ZQ-3) on December 3. While the launcher reached its planned orbit, and the first stage was able to navigate precisely back to its landing pad approximately 300 km downrange, the booster experienced an issue during its landing burn and also impacted the ground. LandSpace ZhuQue-3 lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Dec. 3 (Credit: LandSpace)

LandSpace is now expected to launch a second ZQ-3 to orbit in August. If this mission successfully lands the first stage on the pad downrange in Gansu Province, it would mark Chinas first land-based propulsive landing of an orbital booster. The company first began Vertical Takeoff, Vertical Landing (VTVL) testing with a hopper demonstrator over two years ago in January 2024.

Those tests used a single Tianque-12A (Heavenly Magpie) engine burning liquid methane and oxygen, whereas the final vehicle is powered by seven of these on its first stage. The ZQ-3 measures 4.5 m in diameter and is a little taller than the CZ-10B at 66 m, with plans to extend to 76 m on later iterations.

Two years ago this week, LandSpace reached orbit with the ZhuQue-2 on its second flight, becoming the first methane-powered vehicle to do so. Next month, it has a strong chance of adding another milestone to its list. The Qinglang droneship performs tests with a Hyperbola-3 first-stage pathfinder secured to its deck in June 2026 (Credit: iSpace)

iSpace conducts droneship trials

Commercial launch provider iSpace has been conducting sea trials of its first autonomous droneship that will support the recovery of boosters for its
Shuang Quxian-3 (SQX-3, or Hyperbola-3) vehicle. The Qinglan (Clear Waves) measures 100 m long and 42 m wide with a deck area measuring approximately 60 x 40 meters. The droneship was first revealed in August 2025 when it left the Runyang Shipyard in Yangzhou and is the first in a fleet the company has
named Xingji Guihang (Interstellar Return/Homecoming).

On board was a mockup first-stage with grid-fins and engines, enabling stability tests in rough seas with waves as high as four meters. The
droneship can conduct its own station keeping but requires a tug to tow it to and from the landing location, similar to SpaceXs droneships.

A passivation robot, analogous to SpaceXs Octagrabber, was tested to secure the landing legs to the deck. The SQX-3 has a similar form factor to the Falcon 9, measuring approximately 70 m tall with a diameter of 4.2 m. Its debut has slipped since initial expectations to launch from Wenchang last year. Gravity-1 launches from an offshore location in Haiyang on Oct. 11,
2025 (Credit: Orienspace)

OrienSpace Gravity-1

After nine months, OrienSpace is preparing for the third sea-launch of its all-solid motor-driven Gravity-1 no earlier than July 22. The rocket last
took flight in October 2025 after a 21-month gap following its debut in January 2024. The company does not have exclusive use of the Dongfang Hangtiangang launch vessel, though the delays are more attributable to slow early production methods and some leadership turbulence between the first and second flights.

Meanwhile, the company has been transporting engines to the Haiyang
spaceport, potentially for testing ahead of the maiden launch of its
Gravity-2 later this year.

OrienSpace is one of four companies shortlisted to launch the Qingzhou cargo spacecraft to the Tiangong space station, starting in January 2027. The other contenders are CAS Space, which launched the demonstration model aboard the maiden flight of its Lijian-2 (Kinetica-2), LandSpace, and Galactic Energy. Image of asteroid Kamooalewa imaged by Tianwen-2 from around 20 km away on July 2 (Credit: CNSA)

Tianwen-2

Elsewhere in the Solar System, Chinas Tianwen-2 had arrived within 20 km of its destination, asteroid 2016HO3 Kamooalewa, by July 2. The craft had travelled roughly one billion kilometers over 400 days since it began its decade-long expedition on May 29, 2025. It conducted a burn to match the asteroids orbital plane in early June, at which point it began to close in. The craft has since switched to its high-gain antenna, which will enable a higher rate of downlink.

Tianwen-2 is expected to collect a sample from the asteroid, following
several months of initial study in which it will characterize the shape, rotation, surface, and internal composition using onboard sensors and
cameras. Recent observations using the James Webb Space Telescope have determined the size of the asteroid to be approximately 20 m in diameter, whereas earlier estimates ranged from 40 to 100 m.

Revised analysis suggests the object could instead be an E-type asteroid a rare, highly reflective type of asteroid rich in the mineral enstatite and thought to have originated from a larger celestial body, rather than a fragment of our own Moon.

(Lead image: Recovered Chang Zheng 10B booster returns to port aboard the Linghangzhe recovery ship. Credit: Xinhua)



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/07/china-update-20261507/


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