(ECNS) — China successfully recovered the first stage of its reusable Long March-10B carrier rocket on Friday after it completed a vertical landing into a net system mounted on a seaborne recovery platform, marking the country's first controlled recovery of a carrier rocket's first stage.
The launch took place at 12:15 p.m. from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site, sending a satellite into its preset orbit. About six minutes after the rocket's first and second stages separated, the first stage returned and was successfully captured by the recovery system.
Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the Long March-10B is a two-stage, liquid-propellant rocket with a 5-meter diameter.
The maiden-flight version stands about 63 meters (207 feet) tall, has a liftoff weight of about 760 metric tons and generates approximately 890 metric tons of thrust at liftoff. In its reusable configuration, it can carry payloads of up to 16 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
The maiden flight verified a number of key technologies, including overall optimization of the rocket’s combined configuration, multiple engine restarts, and high-altitude ignition, high-precision navigation and control, and net-system recovery on a seaborne platform.
The development team is expected to complete a reusable flight of the first-stage rocket by the end of this year.
The mission was the 657th flight of the Long March carrier rocket series.
(Bu intern Lin Qiaochu)
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