Research and recovery teams retrieve the first stage body of a Long March-10 carrier rocket at sea in Wenchang, South China's Hainan Province on February 13, 2026. Photo: CCTV News

China completed its first maritime recovery of a rocket booster on Friday, as search and recovery teams retrieved the first-stage of a Long March-10 carrier rocket from the sea, a milestone in advancement of reusable launch vehicles technologies, Central China Television reported on Friday, citing the China Manned Space Agency.

The recovery was conducted following a low-altitude demonstration and verification flight test of the Long March-10 carrier rocket and a maximum dynamic pressure abort flight test of China's new-generation crewed spacecraft Mengzhou, which was carried out on Wednesday at the coastal Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in South China's Hainan Province, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Upon reaching conditions for an abort at maximum dynamic pressure following the launch of the rocket, the Mengzhou spacecraft received a command from the rocket and successfully executed separation and abort maneuvers. Both the rocket's first-stage booster and the spacecraft's return capsule subsequently splashed down in a controlled manner within their respective predetermined sea areas, according to Xinhua. 

The Long March-10 carrier rocket and the new Mengzhou spacecraft are primarily developed for China's crewed lunar missions, and will support the near-Earth space station operations. The return capsule of the spacecraft is designed with reusable capability, the agency said.

China aims to land its astronauts on the moon before 2030. The Mengzhou, which means "dream vessel" in Chinese, is designed mainly for the mission, Xinhua reported. 


Global Times