China recovers Long March 10B booster, narrowing gap with SpaceX

On 10 July, China launched the Long March 10B rocket and successfully recovered its first‑stage booster, becoming the second nation after the United States to demonstrate a reusable booster recovery. The recovery occurred about six months earlier than analysts had expected, marking a significant technical milestone for China’s launch capabilities.

Industry analysts note that while the booster has been retrieved, China has not yet shown that the recovered stage can be reflown, a capability that SpaceX’s Falcon‑9 has demonstrated repeatedly, with 165 launches in the past year. The event is viewed as a signal of progress toward more frequent, lower‑cost launches and may influence market perceptions of the competitive landscape in commercial spaceflight.