Boreal Times NewsroomChina Successfully Launches and Lands Its Super Rocket Long March 10A
Successfully Launches and Lands Super Rocket Long March 10A in Historic
China’s space programme has long been synonymous with steady, incremental progress. Yet the test that unfolded at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island yesterday felt different. For the first time, engineers combined two high-risk objectives in one flight: validating the Mengzhou spacecraft’s launch-escape system at maximum dynamic pressure (Max-Q) and proving that the Long March 10A’s first stage could survive re-entry, reignite its engines, and execute a precise propulsive landing in the ocean. Both succeeded.
The vehicle that lifted off at 11:00 Beijing Time was not the full 92-metre, 21-engine Long March 10 intended for lunar missions. It was the shorter, two-stage Long March 10A variant – the “single-stick” version designed primarily for low-Earth orbit crew and cargo flights to the Tiangong space station. Its first stage carries seven YF-100K kerosene/LOX engines delivering roughly 9 772 kN of vacuum thrust. The stage is built from the outset to be recovered and reflown.
As the rocket climbed through the dense lower atmosphere, the uncrewed Mengzhou capsule rode atop the stack. At approximately 60 seconds after liftoff, right at the moment of peak aerodynamic stress, the capsule’s four abort motors fired. The spacecraft pulled away cleanly, arced through the sky under its own power, deployed three enormous parachutes (total area >2 400 m²), and splashed down safely in the designated recovery zone. That part of the test alone would have been headline news; China had already performed a ground-level pad abort in 2025, but never an in-flight Max-Q escape with a live booster still burning.
What happened next elevated the mission from impressive to historic. Instead of being jettisoned and lost at sea like every previous Chinese crew rocket stage, the Long March 10A first stage kept flying. After staging at around 105 km altitude, it coasted upward, flipped tail-first, deployed four grid fins for aerodynamic steering, and began its return journey.
Engineers had already hot-fired the stage twice on the ground in 2025 – once for 320 seconds simulating a full ascent-reentry-landing profile – so the flight software knew what to expect. At roughly 350 seconds mission elapsed time the three outer engines reignited for the boost-back burn. A second, shorter burn followed for re-entry deceleration. Finally, in the terminal phase, three engines lit again in succession, throttling the centre engine for fine control. At 120 m altitude a tether mechanism deployed to simulate the future “net capture” system that will be used on land. At five metres the stage entered a brief quasi-hover, then settled gently onto the sea surface just 200 m from the recovery vessel Ling Hang Zhe.
The Ling Hang Zhe – a purpose-built recovery ship delivered only months earlier – moved in, hooked the stage, and lifted it aboard. For the first time in Chinese history, a full-scale orbital-class booster had been retrieved from the ocean after a controlled descent. CASC later described the recovery as “a significant advancement for China in the field of reusable rocket technology,” noting the successful demonstration of multiple engine restarts, high-altitude ignition, complex force-environment adaptation, and high-precision navigation.
This was not a one-off stunt. The Long March 10A is explicitly designed for partial reusability. When the first stage is recovered and reflown, payload to low-Earth orbit rises from 14 tonnes (expendable) to at least 18 tonnes. That extra margin matters for crewed flights to Tiangong and for the commercial Long March 10B variant already in preparation. Future flights will attempt land-based net capture using the same tether hooks and ground grid system, further reducing refurbishment time and cost.
The test also gives engineers confidence in the full Long March 10 lunar stack. That vehicle will use two strap-on boosters (each with seven YF-100K engines) plus the core stage, giving a total liftoff thrust of nearly 9 000 tonnes and the ability to send 27 tonnes directly to trans-lunar injection. Two such rockets will be required for each crewed lunar mission: one to launch the crew in the Mengzhou capsule, the other to send the Lanyue lander. The stages will rendezvous in lunar orbit before the crew transfers for descent.
China now stands at a familiar yet exciting juncture. SpaceX proved that rapid reuse is possible; yesterday’s flight showed that a state-led programme can achieve the same technical milestones on its own timeline. The difference is the landing system. While SpaceX uses legs and a drone-ship, China has chosen a tethered net capture on land – a solution that eliminates heavy landing legs, increases payload, and simplifies the booster. Yesterday’s splashdown was the necessary proof-of-concept step before attempting that more demanding ground recovery.
Looking ahead, the schedule is ambitious but grounded in completed hardware. The first orbital flight of the Long March 10A is targeted for late 2026, carrying an uncrewed Mengzhou to Tiangong. The full Long March 10 lunar configuration is still on track for a debut around 2027–2028, with the first crewed lunar landing planned before the end of the decade. Every successful reuse lowers the per-launch cost, increases flight cadence, and frees up resources for the lunar surface infrastructure China intends to build alongside international partners by 2035.
Yesterday’s “perfect landing” was therefore more than a spectacular visual. It was empirical proof that the technical challenges of booster recovery – engine restart reliability, thermal protection, attitude control, and precision guidance – have been solved in hardware that will fly again. For a nation that once watched its early Long March rockets tumble into the Pacific, the image of a 55-metre, seven-engine stage hovering briefly before touching the sea marks a generational leap.
The next time that same booster – or one of its siblings – climbs out of Wenchang, the world will be watching to see whether it returns to a net on land instead of a barge at sea. China has shown it can reach the water safely. Now the question is how quickly it can master the final, more demanding step.
References:
Additionally, from X (formerly Twitter):
- X Post by @Mishi3107: “China’s Long March-10A Success…” Posted February 11, 2026. Brief on the splashdown and lunar goals. Available at: https://x.com/Mishi3107/status/2021552825575346176
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