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Long March 10B

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Long March 10B
FunctionMedium-lift launch vehicle
ManufacturerChina Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT)[1] of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)[2]
Country of originPeople's Republic of China
Size
Height70.2 m (230 ft)[3]
Diameter5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Altitude200 km (120 mi)
Mass16,000 kg (35,000 lb) with booster recovery
Payload to LEO
Altitude900 km (560 mi)
Mass11,000 kg (24,000 lb) with booster recovery
Associated rockets
FamilyLong March
Based onLong March 10
Comparable
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesWenchang Commercial
Total launches1
Success(es)1
First flight10 July 2026
First stage
Powered by7 × YF-100K
Maximum thrustSL: 8,750 kN (1,970,000 lbf)
vac: 9,772 kN (2,197,000 lbf)
Specific impulseSL: 301.6 s (2.958 km/s)
vac: 337 s (3.30 km/s)
Burn time155 seconds
PropellantRP-1 / LOX
Second stage
Powered by1 × YF-219[3]
PropellantCH4 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

Long March 10B (LM-10B, Chinese: 长征十号乙; pinyin: Chángzhēng shí hào yǐ, CZ-10B) is a partially reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle developed by China Rocket, the commercial launch subsidiary of China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).[1][2] It is the third in the Long March 10 series of rockets and is derived using technologies developed for the Long March 10A.[4]

Similar to the heavy-lift Long March 5, the CZ-10B stages have a five-meter diameter. Like other CZ-10 variants, the kerolox first stage is powered by seven YF-100K engines. The second stage uses one YF-219 methalox engine. Like China's other new generation rockets, the CZ-10B launches from Wenchang Space Launch Site.

The CZ-10B's maiden flight in July 2026 successfully achieved orbit and booster recovery, using a net-based catching system on a floating landing platform.[5][6] This marked the first orbital booster recovery by the Chinese space program, the second country to achieve this after the United States, and the first recovery of any rocket using a net-based system.[7][8]

Overview

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The Long March 10B is closely related to the Long March 10 family (from which the Long March 10B is derived), which is designed to fly the Mengzhou spacecraft to the moon.[9]

In December 2025, a representative from China Rocket, the commercial arm of CALT, presented plans for a commercial variant of the Long March 10A during the Wenchang International Aviation and Aerospace Forum 2025. This new variant, the Long March 10B, will have a payload capacity of at least 16 tonnes, likely in a reusable mode, to a 200 km low Earth orbit, and at least 11 tonnes to a 900 km orbit at 50 degrees orbital inclination.[4]

In a July 2026 interview, Qian Hang, from the First Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), referred to the Long March 10b as the "younger sibling' of the Long March 10A. Long March 10A is designed to carry crewed spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO) and is a comprehensively upgraded evolution of the older Long March 2F and Long March 7 launchers. Thus, the Long March 10B is configured to gather flight data for the Long March 10A, thereby reducing development risks and enhancing the reliability of future crewed missions. In addition, the 10B variant will verify new technologies for the recovery. The Long March 10B will also reuse recovered first-stage boosters from Long March 10A missions and, by using a more powerful liquid methane-based second stage, generate greater lifting capacity than the latter. Unlike the Long March 10A, the 10B variant will be aimed at providing launch services for China's commercial space sector.[10][11]

Design

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The Long March 10B is a medium-lift launch vehicle at 10 m (33 ft) tall and 5 m (16 ft) in diameter. It features two stages, with the first stage powered by seven YF-100K engines. The booster can deliver up to 16 t (35,000 lb) in recoverable configuration to low Earth orbit. It's primarily designed for cargo missions.[12]

The new Long March 10B inherits the first stage of the Long March 10A but reportedly will use a more powerful second stage that employs methane and liquid oxygen as fuel and oxidizer, respectively. There may also be an additional commercial variant tentatively named the Long March 10C.[13][14] The first stage of the Long March 10B, just as the Long March-10A variant, will be recoverable via a "wire recovery apparatus" located on a recovery vessel after launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on Hainan Island. The first stage of the rocket is equipped with hooks that will catch the wire network on the recovery ship; the tensioned wires are carried by rail-mounted dollies, which automatically position themselves to optimize the likelihood that the rocket will successfully "catch" the wires.[4][15]

Net-based booster recovery differs from landing-leg systems primarily in the location of the recovery hardware. Reusable rockets like Falcon 9 carry the landing legs and reinforced support structures throughout the flight, whereas the Long March 10B places the recovery system and shock-absorbing equipment on the landing barge, leaving the booster with only lightweight hooks. This reduces booster mass, simplifies its structure, and increases payload capacity, while the larger capture area of a net could tolerate greater landing error in difficult maritime conditions.[16][17]

Illustration of flexible cable-net recovery of a landing rocket.
The Long March 10B net recovery system. Illustration of flexible cable-net recovery of a landing rocket.

Launches

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Debut launch

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The first launch of the Long March 10B took place at 4:15 (UTC) on 10 July 2026. The upper stage successfully placed a satellite into its designated orbit.[18] The first-stage booster was successfully recovered using the wire-based recovery system fitted on the Linghangzhe (Navigator) recovery ship.[9] Long March 10B is the first system in China and the first outside of the United States to accomplish first-stage recovery, meaning the launcher provider China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) joins an exclusive club of reusable rocket manufacturers including SpaceX and Blue Origin. It is the first system to successfully recover a booster using a net-based system.[19] This was China's third attempt at rocket booster recovery, following LandSpace's Zhuque-3 and CALT's previous recovery test.[20]

List of launches

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Flight
No.		 Rocket Stage 1 Serial No. Date/Time
(UTC)		 Payload Orbit Launch site Outcome Booster
Recovery
1 CZ-10B X1B-1 10 July 2026
04:15[21]		 TBA LEO WCSLS LC-2 Success Success
Debut orbital flight of CZ-10B, a partially reusable, cargo-optimized variant of the CZ-10 series for launching China's Satellite Internet megaconstellation.[4] First successful recovery of a first-stage booster during an orbital launch attempt by China.[5]
2 CZ-10B X1B-2 NET 2026 TBA LEO WCSLS LC-2 Planned Planned
The recovered first stage from the first flight is scheduled to be reflown on this mission.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "China successfully tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system". Reuters. 10 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Gebrekidan, Selam; Wu, Pei-Lin (10 July 2026). "With a Successful Rocket Launch, China Clears a Key Hurdle in Race With SpaceX". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 "Re: China to have new rockets (Reply #986) on: 03/05/2026 01:04 pm". nasaspaceflight.com. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jones, Andrew (31 December 2025). "China to debut reusable Long March 10-derived rocket in first half of 2026". SpaceNews. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  5. 1 2 Fu, Yifei; He, Peicong (2026-07-10). Sun, Ying (ed.). "长征十号乙火箭首飞成功，回收成功！". Science and Technology Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2026-07-10. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  6. ↑ Hoskins, Peter (10 July 2026). "China lands reusable rocket for first time, state media says". BBC News.
  7. ↑ Northrop, Katrina (10 July 2026). "China Successfully Launches Reusable Rocket in a Win for Space Program". Wall Street Journal.
  8. ↑ Jones, Andrew (10 July 2026). "China becomes second country to recover orbital booster with Long March 10B". Space News.
  9. 1 2 "On July 10, 2026". Space Daily. 10 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Re: China to have new rockets (Reply #1014) on: 10/07/2026 07:54 pm". nasaspaceflight.com. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  11. ↑ 杨, 宇光 (10 July 2026). "长十系列火箭家族，如何构建我国航天运输新体系?". cctv.com (Voice of China). Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Belain, Victoria; Ling, Xin (10 July 2026). "China recovers reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of Long March 10B". South China Morning Post.
  13. ↑ "Re: China to have new rockets". nasaspaceflight.com. 25 December 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "长十乙，预计明年航天日前后完成首飞, 二级使用液氧甲烷". weibo.com. 25 December 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "Proposed Chinese wire-based booster catching mechanism (Reply #27)". nasaspaceflight.com. 13 July 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Clark, Stephen (10 July 2026). "China recovered its first reusable rocket and showed a new way to do it". Ars Technica.
  17. ↑ Okafor, Paschal (10 July 2026). "Net vs. Legs: How China's Long March-10B Rocket Landing Is Different From SpaceX's Falcon 9". Naija Tech Guide.
  18. ↑ "China's Long March-10B rocket makes maiden flight, achieving controlled first-stage recovery for first time". Xinhua. 2026-07-10.
  19. ↑ Billings, Lee (10 July 2026). "China's long march to reusable rocketry hits another milestone". Scientific American.
  20. ↑ Langley, William (10 July 2026). "China claims rocket first as it catches booster in floating sea net". Financial Times.
  21. ↑ "Inaugural launch - CZ-10B - HCSLS - July 10-13, 2026 (~06:00 UTC), (Reply #41)". nasaspaceflight.com. 24 June 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "weibo-post". 10 July 2026.
  23. 王聪; 王劲博; 宋征宇 (2023). "登月火箭剩余运载能力估计与停泊轨道重规划". 宇航学报. 44 (9): 1323.
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