July 10 — A Long March 10B lifted off from a commercial spaceport in Hainan. About six minutes after stage separation, a sub-stage performed a vertical return and was recovered on an offshore platform. China said this was its first controlled recovery of a carrier-rocket sub-stage and the world’s first net-system recovery of a launcher. The recovery platform, named "Navigator", was converted for the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a unit of China S

July 10 — A Long March 10B lifted off from a commercial spaceport in Hainan. About six minutes after stage separation, a sub-stage performed a vertical return and was recovered on an offshore platform. China said this was its first controlled recovery of a carrier-rocket sub-stage and the world’s first net-system recovery of a launcher. The recovery platform, named "Navigator", was converted for the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a unit of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, in cooperation with the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is China’s first sea platform built for rocket net recoveries.