A Chinese Long March 10 booster, powered by seven kerosene-fueled YF-100K engines, lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island on February 11, 2026 (local time).
Credit: Liu Yang/VCG via Getty Images
A Chinese Long March 10 booster, powered by seven kerosene-fueled YF-100K engines, lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island on February 11, 2026 (local time). Credit: Liu Yang/VCG via Getty Images
Mengzhou, which means “dream vessel” in Chinese, is scheduled for its first orbital test flight later this year. The spacecraft will launch on a Long March 10A rocket and dock with China’s Tiangong space station in low-Earth orbit. The Long March 10A, optimized for low-Earth orbit flights, will consist of a single reusable first-stage booster flying in combination with an upper stage. The full-size Long March 10, with 21 engines on three first-stage boosters connected together, will have the power to place payloads up to 70 metric tons into low-Earth orbit, and enough energy to propel the 26-metric-ton Mengzhou spacecraft to the Moon.
China’s leading state-owned space industry contractor, the China Aerospace and Science Technology Corporation (CASC), said the recovery of the Long March 10 booster after the in-flight abort test lays the foundation for “subsequent full-profile flight tests” and marks a “significant step” for China in “mastering reusable rocket technology.”
“The flight test further evaluated several key technologies, including the reliability of multiple engine restarts and high-altitude ignition during the rocket’s reentry phase, adaptability to complex force and thermal environments, and high-precision navigation control during the reentry phase.”
CASC oversees a sprawling industry of rocket and spacecraft manufacturers, including those responsible for designing and building the Mengzhou spacecraft and Long March 10 rocket.
The Mengzhou capsule splashes down in the South China Sea after the in-flight abort test.
Credit: China Manned Space Agency
The Mengzhou capsule splashes down in the South China Sea after the in-flight abort test. Credit: China Manned Space Agency
The successful splashdown and recovery of the Long March 10 booster continues a busy period for China’s reusable rocket initiatives. No fewer than 10 Chinese companies are working on reusable rockets at different levels of maturity, all seeking to match the success of SpaceX’s reusable rocket program in the United States.
In December, two Chinese launch providers debuted new rockets—the Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A—with recoverable and reusable boosters. The rockets reached orbit, but their boosters missed their landings downrange from their launch pads.
Several Chinese companies have also completed high-altitude “hop tests” to evaluate vertical takeoff and vertical landing technologies ahead of launching their first orbital flights.
These advancements in China’s reusable rocket and lunar exploration programs come as NASA prepares to launch a crew of four astronauts on a loop around the far side of the Moon as soon as next month. A US-made lunar lander is likely still a few years away from being ready to transport crews to and from the lunar surface.