China Becomes The Second Country To Recover A Rocket Booster
It successfully deposited a Long March 10B rocket into a net anchored at sea.
China Central Television
China has become just the second country to capture a reusable rocket, heralding a breakthrough in the country's space program, according to China's state television CCTV. Footage showed the Long March 10B rocket booster descending and being caught by a net, the first time such a feat has been accomplished.
The rocket, on its maiden flight, was developed by the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). "[The mission] marks a historic breakthrough for China in the field of reusable rocket technology and will lay a solid foundation for accelerating the enhancement of the country's space access capabilities," CALT said in a (Gemini translated) statement.
CALT used a novel system to catch the booster. Unlike SpaceX's Falcon 9 that uses retractable landing legs (or external mechanical arms for Starship), the Long...
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