Long March-10's first stage retrieved from sea in China's first

The first stage of the Long March-10 carrier rocket is fished out and retrieved from the sea on Feb. 13, 2026, marking China's completion of its first-ever rocket first-stage booster maritime salvage and recovery mission. (Photo by Wang Yulin/Xinhua)

WENCHANG, Hainan, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The first stage of the Long March-10 carrier rocket has been successfully fished out and retrieved from the sea, marking China's completion of its first-ever rocket first-stage booster maritime salvage and recovery mission.

On Friday morning, the maritime search and recovery team completed the mission, according to the China Manned Space Agency. This success holds significant importance for advancing the country's reusable launch vehicle technology.

The Long March-10 rocket blasted off at 11:00 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Wednesday, and shortly after, its first stage splashed down separately in the predetermined sea area in a controlled manner as planned.

The Long March-10 is designed primarily for manned lunar exploration missions and also supports near-Earth space station operations. Its first-stage booster, developed as part of the Long March-10A rocket, is reusable.