Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10

China Lands Long March 10B Booster With Wire Catch, Advancing Reusable Rocket Push

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10

China Lands Long March 10B Booster With Wire Catch, Advancing Reusable Rocket Push

Q: With China's new reusable rocket, how soon will it build its planned moon base?

Not soon in the sense of a finished human moon base. China’s current timeline points to early groundwork by about 2029, a first crewed lunar landing around 2030, and broader base construction through the 2030s. The reusable Long March 10B matters because it should lower launch costs and improve the cadence of cargo and crew missions. But one successful booster recovery does not mean China can immediately build the International Lunar Research Station. The moon base plan still depends on several steps: robotic precursor missions, testing lunar construction methods, delivering cargo reliably, and then sending astronauts. China’s near-term plan is for Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 to help establish the basic outline of the lunar station by the end of the decade. Those missions are expected to scout the site, test resource use on the Moon, and try early construction-related technologies such as making materials from lunar soil. The more decisive milestone is China’s target of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030. The Long March 10 family is central to that effort, including transporting crews and cargo. In that sense, the new reusable rocket is an enabling technology, not the moon base itself. So the realistic answer is that China may begin laying the foundations of its planned moon base before 2030, but a functioning, more permanent outpost is more likely to take shape gradually during the 2030s rather than in the next few years.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10

Friday’s inaugural Long March 10B flight ended with its booster hovering over a South China Sea platform before a grid of wires closed around it, completing a controlled recovery minutes after launch.
The wire-catching method lets engineers skip landing legs, a design choice meant to simplify the booster, preserve payload capacity and support cheaper, faster reusable launches.
The success strengthens evidence that China is narrowing the gap in reusable launch technology, even as analysts note SpaceX first landed a Falcon 9 booster more than 10 years ago.
Reusable rockets are central to China’s broader space ambitions because recovering and flying boosters again can cut launch costs and increase the pace of satellite and other missions.