Wenchang City, Hainan Province, south China - July 10, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of Long March-10B carrier rocket
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Muye, engineer, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (partially overlaid with shots 3-6/ending with shot 7):
"We can see that it features a cluster of seven YF-100 engines in parallel. At liftoff, it can generate approximately 900 tonnes of thrust. The YF-100 is the liquid oxygen-kerosene engine. Among these seven engines, five are gimbaled and two are fixed. Additionally, five of them are capable of restarting. During the return phase, it first goes through the powered decelerating section, where two engines are ignited for deceleration. Then, in the final landing, three more engines are restarted to achieve the final landing."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
3. Chen introducing Long March-10B carrier rocket
4. Various of rocket
5. Cluster of seven YF-100 engines
6. Animation showing working mechanism of engines
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
7. Various of animation showing first stage of rocket landing

China achieved a milestone in reusable rocket technology on Friday with the maiden launch of the Long March‑10B from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in south China’s Hainan Province, successfully recovering its first stage after delivering a payload into orbit.

The rocket, in its maiden flight, sent the payload into the preset orbit. After the separation of the rocket’s first and second stages, the first stage returned and was successfully captured on a seaborne platform via a net‑capture system. Both the launch and the first‑stage recovery were successfully completed.

This mission marked China’s first controlled recovery of a carrier rocket’s first stage, representing a major breakthrough in the country’s reusable rocket technology.

Developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the Long March-10B is a large, two-stage liquid-fueled carrier rocket featuring a 5-meter diameter core.

The carrier rocket has a total length of 63.6 meters, which can be extended to 70 meters later. Its first stage uses the relatively mature liquid oxygen-kerosene engine, while its second stage uses the newly developed liquid oxygen-methane engine.

Designed with reusability in mind, it boasts a low Earth orbit (LEO) payload capacity of 16 tonnes in reusable mode, offering a highly cost-effective solution for deploying large commercial satellites and LEO internet constellations.

"We can see that it features a cluster of seven YF-100 engines in parallel. At liftoff, it can generate approximately 900 tonnes of thrust. The YF-100 is the liquid oxygen-kerosene engine. Among these seven engines, five are gimbaled and two are fixed. Additionally, five of them are capable of restarting. During the return phase, it first goes through the powered decelerating section, where two engines are ignited for deceleration. Then, in the final landing, three more engines are restarted to achieve the final landing," said Chen Muye, an engineer of the CASC.