China claims to have a reusable space rocket

The operation marks a turning point for the Chinese space program and reshapes, at least in part, the balance of a sector dominated until now by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Until now, almost all space launches involved the destruction of rocket components during ascent, a feature that has always made access to space extremely expensive. The recovery of the boosters, considered the most valuable part of the carrier, allows the costs of satellite launches and exploration missions to be significantly reduced.

The Chinese attempt is not the first ever: already in February the Long March 10A had carried out a controlled ditching next to a recovery platform, without however completing an actual landing. The Long March 10B, capable of carrying a payload of at least 16 tons into low orbit, is often compared to the Falcon 9 due to its technical characteristics. The recovery method, however, remains distinct: unlike the SpaceX carrier, which lands autonomously on a ground platform or on a barge, the Long March 10B is attached by “landing hooks” to a net mounted on a floating structure.

The news had an immediate response on the Chinese financial markets. The stocks of companies in the space sector recorded sharp increases, with China Spacesat and China Satellite Communications jumping by 10%, the maximum daily limit allowed by the country’s stock exchange regulations.