FILE: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China - March 9, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Long March 3B Rocket taking off

FILE: China - March 2020 (China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Picture showing expended rocket booster
3. Picture showing booster equipped with parachute landing system
4. Booster falling down

Beijing, China - April 2, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Puzhuo, chief designer of parachute control system, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (ending with shot 6):
"The landing area of a booster was 90 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide in the past. The 2,700-square-kilometer landing area has been greatly scaled down as we now control the booster with parachutes and make it land in the designated area."

China - March 2020 (China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Booster falling down
7. Pictures showing booster at landing area
8. Booster equipped with parachute landing system falling down
9. Pictures showing engineers working
10. Animation showing parachute assisted landing of booster

Chinese researchers on Thursday revealed pictures showing the first accurate landing of a Long March 3B rocket booster equipped with a parachute control system.

The system was tested when the 54th satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) was sent into a geostationary orbit as planned by a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province on March 9 this year.

If a booster lost control after its separation with the rocket, it may threaten the safety of residents living in and around its landing area. However, the parachute assisted landing system can adjust its direction and posture when it falls down, and finally lead it to a targeted point.

"The landing area of a booster was 90 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide in the past. The 2,700-square-kilometer landing area has been greatly scaled down as we now control the booster with parachutes and make it land in the designated area," said Zhang Puzhuo, chief designer of the parachute control system with China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

The system is designed to prevent the boosters falling unpredictably in areas with human activity.

This test on March 9 verified the feasibility of the overall scheme of the parachute control system, and also laid the foundation for further improvement.

More tests are expected this year. Meanwhile, larger parafoils will be adopted to achieve more accurate landing.