Transport & space · July 2026

Booster caught by a sea net

China recovers an orbital booster for the first time, with a net at sea.

The first stage of a Long March 10B launched from Hainan was captured by a net on a sea platform, China's first orbital booster recovery and the first net recovery anywhere.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia Source

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Reusable orbital rocket 2015

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Objects launched into space Latest: 4.51k per year (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Payloads in low Earth orbit Latest: 14.5k objects (2025) Source: Our World in Data