China’ Long March 10B Rocket Closes Gap on Space Launch Capabilities

On July 10, 2026, China successfully launched a payload to orbit and recovered the first stage booster of its Long March 10B rocket system, making China only the second nation after the US to do so.

In function, it is similar to the US-based SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which can return to landing pads on shore or land on recovery ships at sea using deployable legs. By eliminating the legs from the first stage booster and using the cable net system, the Long March 10B saves weight that can be used instead for additional fuel.

Both the Long March 10B and the Falcon 9 use kerosene and LOX (liquid oxygen) fueled engines — though each system uses different types of engines. The Long March 10B has 7 engines, while Falcon 9 has 9.

The Long March 10B can carry 16 metric tons into orbit in reusable configuration, while the Falcon 9 can carry 17.5 metric tons into orbit—fairly comparable.

China seeks to examine, refurbish, and relaunch this recovered booster a second time by the end of 2026.

This was only the second test of the Long March 10B — the first occurred in February this year, featuring a planned soft landing at sea next to the recovery ship after propelling China’s new manned spacecraft — the Mengzhou — to maximum dynamic pressure (the highest speed and pressures within the Earth’s atmosphere) before conducting a launch abort test, which was also successful.

To have successfully designed, tested, and successfully recovered a first-stage booster with capabilities on par with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in just 2 attempts is a monumental achievement considering the multiple failures that took place when developing the Falcon 9 itself.

Why China’s Success is Important

In 2020 and 2021, China was outpacing the US in space launches. By 2022 the US had surpassed China, and every year since the US has surpassed China solely because of SpaceX’s ability to launch, recover, and reuse its rocket fleet — where China — until now — has been forced to fully expend every rocket it launches.

Over the years, SpaceX has launched and recovered its Falcon 9 rockets over 600 times.

In 2025 — last year — the US launched a total of 181 rockets — China 92-93 and Russia 17 — meaning the US launched more rockets than both China and Russia combined.

The US has exploited this advantage in launch cadence by building the Starlink (approximately 10,000 active satellites) and now the Starshield (approximately 200 active satellites) low........

© New Eastern Outlook