China on Friday recovered the first stage of the Long March-10B carrier rocket following its maiden flight, marking a new milestone in the country's development of reusable launch technology.
The rocket lifted off from launch pad No.2 at the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province, sending a satellite into preset orbit.
Around six minutes after lift off, the reusable component - the first-stage booster - was captured by a cable recovery system on board a specially designed vessel in waters off Hainan.
The mission marked the world's first successful recovery of a carrier rocket using the net system and China's first maritime recovery of a rocket booster.