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长征十号Long March 10 series rockets used for manned lunar landing and other missions successfully completed the test of the first-stage rocket power system. During the test, the engine started normally, worked stably, shut down at a fixed time, and all parameters were tested normally. This test is the first system-level large-scale ground test of the Long March 10 series of launch vehicles. The matching of the first-stage booster delivery system and the engine, the propellant filling process, the multi-machine parallel power transmission and environmental characteristics and other technologies were fully verified. The

Long March 10 rocket is a three-and-a-half-stage rocket developed for the manned lunar exploration project. The total length of the rocket is 92.5 meters, the takeoff weight is about 2,189 tons, the takeoff thrust is about 2,678 tons, and the Earth-Moon transfer orbit carrying capacity is not less than 27 tons. In the future, it will be used to launch a new generation of manned spacecraft and lunar landers. In addition, the Long March 10 has also designed another booster-free configuration that can perform space station astronaut and cargo transportation tasks….

On the Month of February 2026 the Newest part of China Lunar Manned Mission to the moon Reusable Carrier Rocket the Long March 10 series reusable Carrier Rocket stage one recovery ecosystem platform netting retrieving system has been fully constructed in full scale   The Navigator, China’s first rocket net-system recovery ship, developed by the First Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology, departed port this afternoon.
(Figures 2-3 are digitally generated illustrations of the successful recovery of the first stage of the Long March 10A rocket.)

The Long March 10 series carrier rockets are a new generation of manned carrier rockets developed by the First Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation for manned lunar exploration missions. The tethered fire tests of the Long March 10 series of launch vehicles were conducted in a step-by-step, phased approach, focusing on two objectives: performance verification of the seven-engine, parallel-stage engine power system, and verification of recovery and reuse. These tests aimed to capture the true payload environment characteristics of the seven-engine, parallel-stage system and verify the recovery procedures. These tests were a key measure to mitigate risks associated with the maiden flight.

The grid fins and recovery hook on the top of a Long March 10 test rocket are clearly visible, while the bottom appears to have leading-edge fins (correction: it should be external piping), giving a glimpse of the future of marine net-system recovery…

Comparing the Long March 10A and the Long March 10 series stationary rocket (modified from

a CZ-10A) to a scaled-down CZ-10A makes the difference quite clear. The “Long March 10 stationary rocket + top counterweight” currently erected in Wenchang for the Mengzhou MaxQ escape test is exactly the same length as the first stage of the CZ-10A (the grid fin positions even match). It’s speculated that a fake second stage may be added later to simulate full-scale flight. I. Core Tasks and Latest Developments

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  The Long March 10 (codename CZ-10), the core launch vehicle for China’s manned lunar landing program, has recently completed several key tests, accelerating the verification of the manned lunar landing system .
  • Tethered ignition test : Two tests were completed in Wenchang in August and September 2025, successfully verifying the stability of seven YF-100K engines working in parallel (130 tons thrust per engine), and breaking through the performance of low-condition operation, secondary ignition start-up and thermal protection materials.
  • Escape test preparation : In January 2026, a Long March 10 test rocket body with a top counterweight was found at the Wenchang 301 launch site. It is intended to be used for the maximum dynamic pressure escape test of the Mengzhou spacecraft to simulate the astronauts’ escape ability under extreme flight conditions. @ChinaAirlines…43240
  • Low-altitude flight test : planned for 2026, to verify the attitude control and landing accuracy of the rocket recovery stage, laying the foundation for reusability.@Zhang Yan of Houen Investment…55
• Derivative Model First Flight Countdown
  • Long March 10A (CZ-10A) : Dedicated configuration for low Earth orbit, reusable first stage, with a payload capacity of ≥14 tons. Its maiden flight is planned for 2026, carrying out the docking mission of the Mengzhou-1 unmanned spacecraft with the space station. The launch window is tentatively set for February 11 (unofficially confirmed).@Kaldarwalich143639
  • Long March 10B (CZ-10B) : A commercial launch model with a reusable first-stage liquid oxygen-methane engine. It is planned to make its maiden flight in April 2026 and attempt to recover the rocket using a network system on a sea platform

II. Technological Breakthroughs and Design Innovation

• Recyclable technology route
  • The net-based recovery system employs a patented design with telescopic damping rods and hook mechanisms to cushion the impact of a rocket’s tilted landing, making it suitable for recovery from offshore platforms. Supporting equipment has entered mass production, with companies such as Taisheng Wind Power participating in the supply. @Vony7153146
  • Engine reliability : The YF-100K engine passed the 320-second long-duration ignition test and passed the 15 repeated ignition verifications, providing support for reuse.twenty three67
• Performance parameters international benchmarking
  • Comparison of Chinese and American rockets : The Long March 10 has a lunar transfer orbit payload capacity of 27 tons, comparable to the American SLS Block 1 (26 tons); however, the SLS’s takeoff thrust (3752 tons) is significantly higher than that of the Long March 10 (2678 tons).8
  • Modular design : This has led to the development of lunar landing version (CZ-10), space station cargo version (CZ-10A), and commercial version (CZ-10B), enabling flexible adaptation to missions

III. Strategic Background and Project Milestones

• The goal of landing on the moon by 2030 is clear.
  • Mission architecture : The mission will employ a “two-launch, lunar docking” model. First, the Long March 10 rocket will launch the lunar lander into lunar orbit, followed by the launch of the Mengzhou spacecraft for docking, after which the astronauts will transfer to the lander to land on the moon.@CCTVNews3061
  • Timeline : The lunar-landing version of the rocket is planned for its maiden flight in 2027, the manned spacecraft will be launched in 2028, and Chinese people will land on the moon before 2030. @People’s Daily4954
• Supporting systems work together to advance
  • Launch site construction : Three lightning protection towers at launch site 301 in Wenchang have been completed, and the fourth is nearing completion. The final assembly plant is nearly 100 meters high, housing facilities for the Long March 5 and Long March 7 rockets, supporting tests of rocket bodies up to 100 meters in length.21238
  • Astronaut Training : 28 active-duty astronauts completed a 6-day closed-loop survival training in the Wulong Karst Cave in Chongqing, simulating the extreme environment of the moon

IV. Industry Impact and Market Attention

• Commercial Spaceflight Boom
  • The rocket race is heating up : More than 10 new rockets are planned to make their maiden flights in China in 2026, with the national Long March 10B competing with private rockets such as the Zhuque-3 and Tianlong-3 for breakthroughs in reusable technology. 47566075
  • Satellite networking is driving the development of China’s StarNet and Qianfan constellations, which require tens of thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites, thus necessitating high-frequency rocket launches. The Hainan launch site is expanding with four launch pads, increasing its annual launch capacity to over 60 launches.@StockMarketAngela76
• Capital Market Linkage
  • Concept stocks in focus : Aerospace Power (engines), Chaojie Shares (structural components), and Western Materials (titanium alloys) are attracting attention, while the stock prices of companies that recycle patents through the Internet system are fluctuating.

V. Little-known facts: Engineering details and humanistic perspectives

• AI-simulated scenario : The First Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology released an AI rendering of the Long March 10 rocket standing at its Wenchang launch site, showing that the rocket may adopt an inclined support design. 1244
• The names are deeply meaningful : the “Dream Boat” spacecraft embodies the dream of carrying people into the universe, while the “Moon Lander” is derived from the poem “able to ascend to the ninth heaven and reach for the moon”, continuing the lineage of Chinese culture.3670

Note: Dates such as the first flight on February 11th posted by unofficial accounts must be confirmed by the Engineering Office.

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration

On the 29th January 2026,  Hours Hong- Kong SAR – Beijing time CNSA –China National Space Administration , China, People’s Republic of China . …. China successfully launched the Successful Long-Duration Test of 240-Ton-Class Commercial Reusable High-Pressure Staged Combustion Liquid Oxygen-Kernel Engine….  On January 29, 2026, the 240-ton-class commercial reusable high-pressure staged combustion liquid oxygen-kerosene engine of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation successfully completed a 200-second long-duration test. This engine, designed for domestic commercial users and developed for medium and large-sized reusable launch vehicles, boasts performance indicators reaching international leading levels.

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration

Beijing Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. is the first domestic aerospace enterprise with mixed ownership, and it is also the target enterprise that Oriental Aerospace Port focuses on introducing. Relying on the scientific research strength and resource advantages of the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Aerospace Flight Technology Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Aerospace Science and Technology has been committed to the research and development and integration of space technology and aerospace vehicles as a platform for the transformation of major national scientific research projects, as well as the transformation and provision of technological achievements. Aerospace launch service. The Lijian-1 rocket project also adds a brand-new name card to the Oriental Space Port, which will surely promote the construction of the Oriental Space Port to take a solid step forward.

On January 12th, the Lihong- 1 Y1 spacecraft, carrying a recoverable microgravity metal additive manufacturing scientific experiment payload independently developed by the Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully completed a metal additive manufacturing experiment in space. Following the mission’s complete success, the payload was safely recovered and a delivery ceremony was held at the Institute of Mechanics on January 22nd.
The return capsule of the Lihong-1 Y1 suborbital spacecraft was opened today, and its microgravity laser additive manufacturing (space metal 3D printing) payload was delivered.
During its maiden flight, the Lihong-1 spacecraft climbed to an altitude of approximately 120 kilometers …

Lihong-1 Completes First Suborbital Flight Test

Mission a Complete Success, Recoverable Payload Module Lands Smoothly… At 16:00 on January 12, 2026, the Lihong-1 Y1 spacecraft from CAS Space Technology successfully completed its suborbital flight test mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The recoverable payload module successfully landed and was recovered via parachute. The maiden flight carried a microgravity laser additive manufacturing recoverable scientific experimental payload and aerospace radiation-induced mutation rose seeds. This flight test successfully verified the re-entry, atmospheric return, deceleration, and recovery of the recoverable payload module. Simultaneously, it verified the precise landing point control technology for the spacecraft’s sub-stage return, achieving a landing point accuracy of hundreds of meters at a distance of 100 kilometers. This marks the transition of space manufacturing from the “concept verification” stage to the “engineering verification” stage, laying a solid technical foundation for the near future realization of space manufacturing, space experiments, space medicine, and space tourism.

The Lihong-1 (PH-1) maiden flight test spacecraft reached an altitude of approximately 120 kilometers, crossing the Kármán line into space. This spacecraft boasts a series of outstanding advantages, including low launch cost, high flexibility, and support for experimental payload recovery. Primarily designed for applications such as microgravity science experiments and near-space in-situ exploration, it provides scientific experimental payloads with a highly stable, reliable, and versatile experimental environment for over 300 seconds.

This flight test mission primarily verified the high-reliability parachute aerodynamic deceleration technology for the reentry payload capsule and the precise landing point control technology for the spacecraft’s sub-stage return. Specific achievements are as follows:

1. The Lihong-1 reentry payload capsule employed parachute recovery technology. The entire return process involved atmospheric reentry, followed by atmospheric deceleration to subsonic speeds, and then further deceleration using parachutes to ensure the payload capsule’s landing speed met mission requirements. To achieve the high-reliability parachute aerodynamic deceleration technology for the reentry payload capsule, breakthroughs were achieved in high-precision recovery trajectory prediction technology for the parachute deceleration system, refined aerodynamic and dynamic integrated analysis technology for the wide-speed-range parachute system, and reliability modeling and comprehensive performance evaluation technology for the parachute deceleration system. This technology can provide preliminary technical verification for the company’s subsequent Lihong-2 reusable spacecraft’s cluster parachute recovery technology and accumulate valuable experimental data for the reliable deceleration and recovery of manned spacecraft for space tourism.

2. The Lihong-1 flight carried out verification of the precise landing point control technology for the return of the spacecraft’s sub-stage. This technology is one of the core key technologies for achieving vertical return and reusability of rocket sub-stages. Under complex reentry force, thermal environment constraints, and high-dimensional landing terminal constraints, an online real-time trajectory guidance optimization algorithm was used to achieve precise landing point control of the spacecraft’s sub-stage return. The verification results, including the high-precision multi-model real-time trajectory optimization method for strongly nonlinear landing problems, the robust autonomous optimal guidance method for complex disturbances and deviations, and the soft-hard coupling design of the autonomous optimal guidance algorithm and a new high-computing-power onboard guidance computer, can be directly applied to orbital rockets, thus enabling breakthroughs in reusable launch vehicle technology at a lower cost .

Images and visuals are from their respectives

On the day January 2026  of  Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time 25 th November 2025 CNSA –China National Space Administration, China, People’s Republic of China Shenzhou20 Taikonaut Crew…. The CPC Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission have decided to award the Spaceflight Medal of Honor to Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie] Chen Dong First Class Space flight Medal Chen Dong is the 3️⃣th Chinese Takionaut to receive the “First Class Spaceflight Medal” (for completing three manned spaceflight missions). The first two astronauts to receive this Honor were Jing Haipeng (December 26, 2016/Shenzhou 7, 9, 11) and Nie Haisheng (November 23, 2021/Shenzhou 7, 10, 12). Above the “First Class Spaceflight Medal” is the “Special Class Spaceflight Medal,” currently the only recipient of which is Jing Haipeng …

(April 2024/Shenzhou 7, 9, 11, 16), who has completed four spaceflights. So, who will be the next recipient? Probably Chen Dong again~

Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration