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China recovers Long March-10B booster using giant net at sea

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology says ditching heavy landing gear could make the rocket lighter, potentially boosting payload capacity, though recovery-vessel costs were not disclosed.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Trade & Tariffs

China has demonstrated a reusable rocket recovery approach outside the United States, with the Long March-10B becoming the first orbital-class rocket from a non-US program to return to Earth and be recovered intact, according to SCMP Economy.

The first-stage booster deployed four hooks as it descended, and then was caught by a giant net on a ship waiting in the South China Sea.

SCMP Economy reports the method differs from SpaceX and Blue Origin, which recover boosters using landing legs rather than a net, and CALT said the design eliminates heavy landing gear.

However, neither CALT nor state media has disclosed the cost of building and operating the recovery vessel, leaving open whether the net-based system ultimately reduces total space launch costs.

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