How are rockets recovered? China pioneers "net-capture" recovery!

Published : 23/07/2026

Rocket recovery｜The first stage rocket is the most expensive

Why recover rockets? The answer is actually very simple, it's mainly about money.

Beyond the initial research and development expenditure, the cost of space launches primarily lies in manufacturing the launch vehicle hardware.

Compared to the tens of millions of dollars required to build a rocket, propellant accounts for merely a single-digit percentage of the total cost. Among the hardware components, the first stage alone can represent around 70% of the manufacturing expense.

A carrier rocket is often composed of two or three stages stacked on top of each other, with the first stage being the bottom-most and largest part when the rocket is stood upright. It usually exhausts its fuel just over two minutes after take-off, then separates from the second stage which continues to ascend, before returning to the ground under inertia.

Because it accounts for a large proportion of the cost, if the first stage rocket can be recovered and reused 10 to 20 times, combined with savings on related expenses, the amortised cost of each space launch could potentially be cut to one-third of the original, which is an important step in space development.

Currently, for China's mainstream "single-use" rockets, the quoted price for sending 1 kilogram of material into space, even considering factors such as low supply chain costs, can be brought down to 4,000 to 11,000 USD.

However, the launch quotes for America's reusable rockets are already lower than this figure, with the cost price reportedly being much lower.

Only China and the U.S. have mastered rocket recovery technology

Putting the financial factor aside, a recovered rocket only needs inspection and refuelling to be put back into service, which takes much less time than manufacturing a brand-new rocket and helps to increase the frequency of space launches. In some cases, launch frequency is more important than money.

It was mentioned earlier that many carrier rockets also have a second, or even a third stage, which separate sequentially after launch, so can the second and third stages be recovered and reused?

The first stage is the part that pushes the rocket from the ground to a high altitude, with an operational altitude that mostly does not exceed 100 kilometres, meaning it has not completely left the atmosphere.

However, the operational altitude of the second stage is already outside the atmosphere, and its recovery faces problems such as high-temperature ablation upon re-entry into the atmosphere and even landing point control, so its recovery remains a challenge to this day, let alone the third stage.

The benefits of rocket recovery and reuse are obvious, but there is a very simple logic: the prerequisite for reuse is recovery.

Although recovering the first stage is said to be easier than recovering the second stage, the actual threshold is still extremely high. There are more than 10 countries in the world with independent space launch capabilities, but only China and the United States have rocket recovery technology.

Rocket recovery: Using "landing legs" for a cushioned, stable landing

The United States began its research, development, and application in this field earlier than China.

At the end of 2015, SpaceX's Falcon 9 was successfully recovered, and over the subsequent decade, they have accumulated hundreds of experiences, with a single recovered rocket being reused more than 30 times. Undeniably, China remains a chaser for the time being.

Currently, there are broadly three methods for first-stage rocket recovery: vertical take-off and landing, parachute landing, and horizontal gliding, with vertical take-off and landing being the absolute mainstream.

Within the method of vertical take-off and landing recovery, there are three technical routes for bringing a first-stage rocket descending from the sky to a stable stop.

The first route for vertical take-off and landing recovery is using "landing legs". Specifically, after separation, the first-stage rocket first adjusts its attitude, decelerates using engine retro-propulsion, and finally uses the "landing legs" mounted on the rocket body to cushion the landing and "stand stably" on the target ground.

The United States' Falcon 9 is a prime example of using "landing legs".

In China, the "national team"s' Long March 12A (長征十二號甲), and the private enterprise's Zhuque-3 (朱雀三號), among others, are all following the same route, with the relevant rockets still undergoing testing.

Rocket recovery｜"Chopstick catch" demands high precision

The advantage of landing legs lies in their technical maturity and minimal reliance on ground infrastructure, offering great flexibility in launch site selection.

The downside, however, is their substantial weight—the legs on the Falcon 9 weigh around two tonnes. During the ascent phase, they are essentially "dead weight", directly eroding the rocket's payload capacity.

Furthermore, after landing, the tall first-stage rocket has a high centre of gravity and, without the help of ground facilities, is more prone to losing stability.

The second route is the most visually striking "chopstick catch", a technical route adopted by SpaceX's Starship.

In actual operation, the first-stage rocket "flies back" and performs a vertical landing in front of the launch tower. As it nears the ground, two mechanical arms from the launch tower extend and clamp it firmly, like "chopsticks" picking up food.

The advantage of the "chopsticks" catch is that the first stage does not rely on legs to stand upright, eliminating dead weight.

The drawback, however, is that it demands extreme precision from the rocket's flight control system and requires precise hovering capabilities during descent. The slightest error could lead to a missed catch with severe consequences.

Furthermore, because the first stage must flip around and fly back to the launch tower, it requires more propellant, which similarly impacts its payload capacity.

China pioneers "net-capture" recovery

This brings us to the net-capture recovery of China's Long March 10B rocket, which is the third technical route for vertical take-off and landing, an original creation by China.

10 July, 2026 was the Long March 10B's first launch and also the first test of net-capture recovery, which was a success on the first attempt.

In the net-capture recovery procedure, the first stage adjusts its attitude and fires thrusters to decelerate on its return journey, similar to the "landing legs" and "chopsticks" methods.

Ultimately, however, it relies on hooks on the rocket body to latch directly onto a massive grid-like net array erected on the recovery vessel, coming to a steady halt through the net array's flexible cushioning.

Although the hook is also dead weight during the ascent phase, it is much lighter than landing legs and has little impact on the rocket's effective payload.

At the same time, the net array can change its tic-tac-toe shape as needed, providing a larger capture window, a much higher fault tolerance than the chopstick catch, and allowing the rocket a certain degree of swing.

Of course, the net-capture recovery technology still faces challenges. For example, with the tic-tac-toe-shaped net array set up on a ship, ensuring the vessel's dynamic positioning is accurate is not easy.

More specific details about the net-capture recovery test, the strategic significance of the new technology for China's aerospace development, and some information about the Long March 10B will be discussed in a separate article.

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