HELSINKI — China is aiming for a first launch of a reusable, cargo-optimized variant of its new crew launch vehicle in the first half of the year, according to official statements.
China Rocket, a spinoff from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)’s China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), stated Dec. 17 that it aims to launch a 5-meter-diameter reusable liquid propellant launch vehicle in the first half of 2026.
The new rocket appears to draw on the technologies of the Long March 10A, a new rocket being developed by CALT to launch the new Mengzhou crew spacecraft to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit. The Long March 10A is also planned for launch for the first time in 2026 and will be a major stepping stone towards China’s crew lunar ambitions. The Long March 10, a tri-core variant, will be later introduced to launch crew and landers to the moon. The program as a whole builds on the Long March 5 rocket which flew for the first time in 2016.
Further details from a presentation from a China Rocket official at the Wenchang International Aviation and Aerospace Forum 2025 and shared on Chinese social media indicate a rocket, referred to as the Long March 10B, will be capable of carrying 11,000 kilograms of payload to a 900-kilometer-altitude at 50 degrees inclination. This indicates it is being developed in order to support the construction of the Guowang megaconstellation.
The new rocket, which could feature a methane-liquid oxygen second stage, upgrading on kerosene engines for other Long March 10 variants according to the presentation, is expected to launch from the coastal Wenchang spaceport. In November, CALT unveiled a recovery vessel that is expected to recover orbital stages using a net recovery apparatus.
The development is related to China’s need to increase its launch cadence in order to construct its megaconstellation projects in accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) rules and internal goals for deployment. It also builds on the launcher technology being developed for the country’s plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030.
Attaining reusable launch capabilities would also allow China to further increase its launch cadence. The Long March 10B, if confirmed as the rocket in question, could make China’s first successful orbital booster recovery.
The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), a counterpart to Beijing-based CALT, has already debuted the reusable Long March 12A with a failed propulsive vertical landing attempt, and is also working on variants such as a Long March 12B.
Commercial Chinese launch service providers are also developing an array of reusable launchers, with Landspace notably making China’s first orbital recovery attempt earlier in December. The second stage reached orbit, but the landing attempt failed.
The potentially reusable Pallas-1, Kinetica-2, Tianlong-3 and much smaller Nebula-1 could launch for the first time in early 2026, with other systems slated for possible first flights later in the year.
China set a new national record of 92 launches in 2025, including the successful debut flights of three new rockets. Launches also included a first emergency launch of a Shenzhou spacecraft to Tiangong, and the Tianwen-2 near-Earth asteroid sample-return mission. The country also made a number of crucial tests of hardware for its crewed lunar plans.
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