Source: Space.com
“China just notched a huge spaceflight milestone. The nation has recovered a rocket during an orbital launch for the first time ever, pulling off the feat during the Long March 10B’s maiden liftoff on Friday (July 10). And that recovery was unique: The rocket’s first stage nestled softly into a net-like structure carried by a ship at sea. … Until now, vertical landings of orbital-class rockets had been performed only by SpaceX, which does them on a regular basis. Indeed, Elon Musk’s company has landed orbital rockets more than 600 times to date. Such extensive reuse has allowed SpaceX to fly more cheaply and efficiently than its competitors and dominate the launch market — something that China is working hard to emulate.” (07/10/26)