China has successfully recovered the first stage of a carrier rocket during an orbital launch test, state media reported Friday – a breakthrough for the country as it vies to catch up with American rivals in reusable rocket technology.

China’s sprawling state-owned rocket developer, maker of the country’s Long March rocket family, announced it recovered a reusable orbital-class booster for the first time Friday in the South China Sea.

China successfully launched the Long March 10B carrier rocket at the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center in Wenchang in South China's Hainan province on July 10, 2026. [Photo by Wan Quan for chinadaily.

BEIJING, Dec 3 (Reuters) - China's Zhuque-3 reusable rocket, developed by private firm LandSpace, failed to make a successful landing on Wednesday, but its debut launch has thrust the global race for reusable rockets into the spotlight. The stainless steel ...

The Zhuque-3 VTVL-1 test article making its powered descent and landing at Jiuquan, Sept. 11, 2024. Credit: Landspace HELSINKI — Chinese launch startup Landspace conducted a 10-kilometer vertical liftoff, vertical landing test at Jiuquan spaceport ...

An experimental reusable rocket developed by the research and development arm of Honda Motor Company flew to an altitude of nearly 900 feet Tuesday, then landed with pinpoint precision at the carmaker’s test facility in northern Japan. The accomplishment ...

A full decade after SpaceX pioneered reusable rocketry with the first-ever successful landing of its Falcon 9 booster, the rest of the world is finally catching up. These few successes aren’t based on others’ lack of trying. On December 3 the first ...