China lands reusable rocket for first time, state media says

China has successfully landed a reusable rocket for the first time in a major breakthrough for the country's space programme, according to state media.The China-aerospace-science-and-technology-corporation" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="151125" data-entity-type="organization">China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said the Long March 10B rocket lifted off from Hainan in southern China at 12:15 local time (04:15GMT) on Friday.Around six minutes after separating from the rocket's upper stage, its booster returned to Earth vertically and was recovered on a floating platform.It signals that China may be able to challenge America's dominance in reusable rockets after successful landings by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.Rockets are typically considered expendable - their various segments being discarded and destroyed during ascent - which makes launching spacecraft expensive.By reusing boosters - which are generally seen as the most valuable part of a rocket - the cost of satellite launches and space exploration can be significantly lowered.In December 2015, SpaceX landed a reusable Falcon 9 rocket from an orbital flight for the first time, followed by Blue Origin's New Glenn in November 2025.The Falcon 9 now launches about 150 times a year with boosters that are capable of being reused dozens of times.