{"id":88529,"date":"2026-08-25T14:02:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=88529"},"modified":"2026-08-25T14:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:02:24","slug":"in-depth-look-at-the-long-march-10b-launch-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/in-depth-look-at-the-long-march-10b-launch-vehicle\/","title":{"rendered":"In-Depth Look at the Long March 10B Launch Vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

I. Basic Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Long March 10B is a large, reusable commercial liquid-propellant launch vehicle with a diameter of 5 meters. The rocket was developed under the overall responsibility of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).<\/p>\n

The project was formally approved on July 3, 2025, entered the engineering development phase in December 2025, and completed a full launch-site rehearsal on April 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

At 12:15 p.m. on July 10, 2026, the Long March 10B lifted off from Launch Pad 2 at the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site and successfully placed its satellite into the planned orbit. Approximately six minutes after stage separation, the first stage returned vertically and was successfully recovered by a net-based capture system aboard an offshore recovery platform.<\/p>\n

The mission made the Long March 10B China\u2019s first reusable launch vehicle to achieve a successful recovery. On July 31, the recovered first stage arrived in Tianjin for a second round of assembly and testing.<\/p>\n

II. Rocket Configuration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Long March 10B has a two-stage configuration. It has a body diameter of 5 meters and stands either 63.6 meters tall with a 12.5-meter fairing or 70.2 meters tall with an 18.5-meter fairing.<\/p>\n

The rocket has a liftoff mass of approximately 760 tonnes, liftoff thrust of about 892.2 tonnes-force, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.17.<\/p>\n

(I) First Stage<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first stage used on the maiden flight had one YF-100N engine installed at its center. Three pairs of engines\u2014YF-100N, YF-100P and YF-100L models\u2014were symmetrically arranged around the perimeter, bringing the total number of engines to seven.<\/p>\n

The YF-100N is also known as a 130-tonne-class reusable liquid oxygen\/kerosene engine with post-pump gimbaling. It produces 1,250 kN of thrust at sea level and has a sea-level specific impulse of 2,958 m\/s.<\/p>\n

The engine was developed by the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology, also known as the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, based on an improved version of the YF-100K. It is available in two variants according to thrust-vector-control capability. The version capable of two-axis post-pump gimbaling through \u00b18 degrees is designated YF-100N, while the fixed version is designated YF-100P.<\/p>\n

The YF-100K is a 130-tonne-class, high-pressure staged-combustion liquid oxygen\/kerosene engine with post-pump gimbaling, developed by the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology. It was China\u2019s first high-thrust rocket engine to use a post-pump gimbaling design. Its non-gimbaling variant is designated YF-100L.<\/p>\n

(II) Second Stage<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The second stage used on the maiden flight was powered by one YF-219 liquid oxygen\/methane engine. It supports multiple ignitions and intermittent propellant-settling maneuvers, enabling extended coasting periods in orbit.<\/p>\n

Developed by the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology, the YF-219 uses a gas-generator cycle and produces 140 tonnes-force of thrust in vacuum.<\/p>\n

(III) Payload Fairing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Long March 10B is available with two payload-fairing configurations measuring 12.5 meters and 18.5 meters in length. Both have an external diameter of 5.2 meters.<\/p>\n

III. Flight Sequence<\/strong><\/h2>\n

TEA-TEB, a pyrophoric mixture of triethylaluminum and triethylborane, ignited all seven<\/strong> first-stage engines. The cable and pipeline connections then detached, the hold-down release system unlocked, and the service tower retracted.<\/p>\n

After 18 seconds<\/strong>, the rocket began its programmed pitch maneuver. Once its velocity had stabilized, the guidance system initiated a gravity turn. The gimbaling YF-100N engines gradually deflected through their servo mechanisms, slowly tilting the rocket. The primary purpose was to use the gravitational component to turn the vehicle naturally, thereby conserving propellant.<\/p>\n

At 154.75 seconds<\/strong>, the first-stage engines shut down at the end of the ascent burn. The four fixed engines\u2014two YF-100Ps and two YF-100Ls\u2014were shut down first, followed rapidly by the remaining three YF-100Ns. This sequence reduced the mechanical shock during separation between the first and second stages and represented one of the flight\u2019s most technically demanding operations.<\/p>\n

At 159.79 seconds<\/strong>, the first and second stages separated. Eight pneumatic push rods, arranged in four sets around the top of the first-stage interstage section at 90-degree intervals, performed a rapid cold separation without pyrotechnic devices. This avoided pyrotechnic contamination and prevented the second-stage engine from ingesting residual combustion gases during ignition.<\/p>\n

At 168.96 seconds<\/strong>, the second-stage engine ignited for the first time. Under reaction-control-system guidance, the second stage first performed a propellant-settling maneuver and rotated through a slight angle so that its engine was not pointed directly at the top of the first-stage interstage section before ignition.<\/p>\n

At 212.71 seconds<\/strong>, the payload fairing was jettisoned.<\/p>\n

At 252.82 seconds<\/strong>, the first stage deployed its four grid fins, which were symmetrically mounted at 90-degree intervals around the top of the interstage section. The fins had no aerodynamic effect at this altitude, but they had to be deployed at this point so that the deployment impulse would deliberately disturb the vehicle, allowing engineers to verify the control system\u2019s resistance to external disturbances.<\/p>\n

At 260 seconds<\/strong>, the first stage reached its ballistic apogee at an altitude of approximately 110 kilometers and a velocity of around 1.48 km\/s. Having crossed the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line, it could be considered to have \u201centered space.\u201d At this point, the stage was following a purely ballistic trajectory and used residual propellant to maintain attitude stability.<\/p>\n

At 365.05 seconds<\/strong>, the first-stage deceleration burn began at an altitude of approximately 59 kilometers and a velocity of about 1.78 km\/s. This was not simply a reverse-thrust braking maneuver. Its purpose was to reduce the stage\u2019s velocity before atmospheric reentry and prevent aerodynamic heating from damaging the vehicle.<\/p>\n

At 393.03 seconds<\/strong>, the deceleration burn ended at an altitude of approximately 35 kilometers and a velocity of around 1.26 km\/s.<\/p>\n

At 446.97 seconds<\/strong>, three first-stage engines ignited for the landing burn. The stage was then at an altitude of approximately 1.5 kilometers and traveling at about 0.29 km\/s.<\/p>\n

At 457.55 seconds<\/strong>, the two outer fixed engines shut down, leaving only the central YF-100N operating. This transition from three engines to one was a key element of the recovery sequence. After the outer engines shut down, the central engine throttled over a wide range to perform the final hover and slow descent. Because the central engine could gimbal, it was also able to control the touchdown point precisely.<\/p>\n

At 477.33 seconds<\/strong>, the first stage deployed its cable-hooking mechanism.<\/p>\n

At 525.83 seconds<\/strong>, the second-stage engine completed its first shutdown.<\/p>\n

At 1,767.25 seconds<\/strong>, the second stage began a propellant-settling maneuver ahead of its second ignition. After coasting for more than 20 minutes, the propellant had become widely dispersed inside the tanks. Settling was therefore essential, as cavitation during restart could otherwise destroy the turbopumps.<\/p>\n

At 2,922.22 seconds<\/strong>, the second-stage engine ignited for the second time.<\/p>\n

At 2,927.61 seconds<\/strong>, the engine completed its second shutdown.<\/p>\n

At 2,932.61 seconds,<\/strong> the second stage completed its final-velocity correction burn.<\/p>\n

At 3,094.99 seconds<\/strong>, the satellite separated from the rocket.<\/p>\n

IV. Rocket Recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(I) Recovery Equipment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Onboard Equipment<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Four grid fins were mounted symmetrically at 90-degree intervals around the top of the first-stage interstage section. Four deployable cable hooks were installed in a similarly symmetrical arrangement, offset from the grid fins by 45 degrees.<\/p>\n

Below the grid fins were four groups of 12 attitude-control thrusters, each producing 25 N of thrust and covered with thermal-protection material. Another four groups of eight 25 N propellant-settling thrusters without thermal protection were installed next to the cable-hook restraint mechanisms.<\/p>\n

2. Recovery Platform<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Long March 10B\u2019s recovery platform was the recovery vessel Navigator<\/em>. The ship is 144 meters long and 50 meters wide, with a full-load displacement of 25,000 tonnes. It is equipped with a DP2 dynamic-positioning system and was delivered in November 2025.<\/p>\n

(II) Recovery Method<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The most important technological innovation of the Long March 10B is China\u2019s independently developed high-load, high-damping offshore net-based recovery technology<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After separation from the second stage, the first stage performed a controlled return using engine burns and aerodynamic-fin guidance. It then descended into a high-strength, shock-absorbing net deployed in a grid pattern aboard the Navigator<\/em> recovery vessel.<\/p>\n

Four hooks mounted on the rocket body precisely engaged the flexible arresting net, completing the midair capture.<\/p>\n

(III) Principal Technical Advantages<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First, the system simplifies the rocket\u2019s onboard structure:<\/strong> The launch vehicle does not require complex landing legs, reducing structural mass and increasing payload capacity.<\/p>\n

Second, it substantially expands the capture window:<\/strong> The net-based recovery system is highly tolerant of deviations in the rocket\u2019s landing point. Coordinated movement of the net system can further enlarge the effective capture area.<\/p>\n

Third, the recovery system can be developed as a scalable product family:<\/strong> Through modular and scalable designs, the net-based recovery system can accommodate launch vehicles of different sizes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I. Basic Information The Long March 10B is a large, reusable commercial liquid-propellant launch vehicle with a diameter of 5 meters. The rocket was developed under the overall responsibility of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). The project was formally approved on July 3, 2025, entered the engineering development phase in December 2025, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5842,1886,312,135,5786,310,205,8791,238,8805],"class_list":["post-88529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-aerospace-engineering","tag-calt","tag-casc","tag-china","tag-commercial-spaceflight","tag-launch-vehicles","tag-long-march","tag-long-march-10b","tag-reusable-rockets","tag-rocket-recovery"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88531,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88529\/revisions\/88531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}