After a successful demonstration flight, the national space agency recovered the first reusable booster stage from the South China Sea, marking a significant milestone on the path toward a crewed lunar mission by 2030.

For the first time in China's history, a maritime operation was carried out to retrieve a rocket component: the first stage of the "Long March 10" rocket was recovered from the water. This achievement represents a major step forward in the development of reusable rocket technology, a capability currently possessed only by the United States.

The booster recovery operation took place on Friday, immediately following a successful low-altitude test conducted earlier in the week. During the test, the booster used its own engines and aerodynamic grid fins to control its return to Earth, landing in a designated maritime zone.

The space agency also tested the emergency escape system for the crewed "Mengzhou" spacecraft under maximum dynamic pressure conditions. Both the "Long March 10" rocket and the "Mengzhou" spacecraft are key elements of the national program to launch a crewed lunar mission by 2030, and they also support ongoing operations at orbital space stations.

The launch vehicle program is divided into two main configurations to accomplish different tasks. The standard version of the "Long March 10" is a heavy-lift rocket, standing 92.5 meters tall with a liftoff mass of 2,189 tons. Equipped with a central core and side boosters, it can deliver at least 27 tons of payload to a trans-lunar trajectory.

For missions in low Earth orbit, a modified version called "Long March 10A" is used. This more compact, 67-meter-tall rocket weighs 740 tons and features a fully reusable first stage, which was recently recovered from the sea. Optimized for servicing the "Tiangong" space station, it can carry up to 14 tons to orbit, making it more suitable for frequent launches.