China Successfully Launched Long March 10B Rocket Recovering the First Stage
China Successfully Launched Long March 10B Rocket Recovering the First Stage
China has reached a new milestone for its space program, especially with future lunar missions in mind. This morning, the first Long March 10B rocket was launched, successfully recovering the first stage. This inaugural mission was originally scheduled for around April but was postponed to today, achieving its objective.
The Long March 10B rocket (also known as Chang Zheng 10B, CZ-10B, or Long March 10B) utilizes the same first stage as the Long March 10A, which was launched for the first time in the first half of February for a test with the Mengzhou capsule. CZ-10B uses 2 stages (without side boosters) dedicated to payloads in low Earth orbit (LEO) with a launch capacity of around 16 tons, while at the base, it has 7 YF-100K engines using RP-1 and liquid oxygen.
Unlike CZ-10A, the second stage of the Long March 10B rocket uses methane and oxygen rather than RP-1 and oxygen. This allows for a “cleaner” combustion, aligning with what will be the future market for space launches (which is gradually moving away from RP-1 as a propellant).
The launch took place at 6:16 AM today (Italian time) from Pad 2 of the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center, which is the commercial spaceport at the Wenchang launch site. This is the second launch of a CZ-10A first stage and the first launch of the CZ-10B second stage, which successfully placed a satellite into orbit completing the mission.
The most interesting phase was the recovery of the first stage of Long March 10B. A hybrid solution was employed using a droneship Ling Hang Zhe, similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, but the first stage does not use landing supports at the base of the rocket. China chose to utilize a system of lateral hooks and cables tensioned from a structure, thereby reducing the mass of the rocket and the risks associated with supports.
As can be seen from the available videos, the first stage exhibited black smoke from its top; it is unclear what caused this condition (which did not prevent) the successful recovery by the droneship Ling Hang Zhe. According to initial information available, another launch with the same first stage has already been scheduled before the end of the year, marking China’s first recovery and reuse of a space rocket.
The Long March 10 version will be a solution with three boosters based on CZ-10A (RP-1 and oxygen) without recovery. This vehicle will be foundational to the crewed lunar space program, with tests expected to start in 2027 and a moon landing anticipated by 2030 (possibly in 2029). The Long March 10A, meanwhile, will be aimed at transporting the Mengzhou capsule to the Tiangong space station, thereby replacing the smaller Shenzhou. Lastly, Long March 10B, with its second stage powered by methane and liquid oxygen, aims to launch megaconstellations of satellites, focusing on the reuse of the vehicle to increase launch cadence and reduce costs. Recently, the possibility of a model called Long March 10C has emerged, designed to use only methane and oxygen as propellants, thus partially changing the first stage.