On July 10, spurred by news of the successful recovery of the first stage of the Long March 1B carrier rocket on an offshore recovery platform, the A-share aerospace sector saw a wave of "price increases," with dozens of listed companies' stocks hitting the daily limit, including Jiufeng Energy, which provided special gas support for the launch.

After the "first victory" of the Long March 10B rocket, private rocket companies are also "gearing up," with LandSpace's Zhuque-3 Yao-2 rocket expected to soon verify reusable technology.

| For the first time in the world, a Chinese rocket has successfully been "caught"

At noon on July 10, the Long March 10B carrier rocket was successfully launched from Hainan. About six minutes later, the rocket's first substage (booster section) returned vertically as if it had eyes, landing steadily in the "net" of a large ship at sea. This is the world's first successful "network-based recovery" of rockets, making China the second country in the world to master high-capacity rocket recovery technology.

How strong is this rocket?

This rocket features a two-stage design. Its core design concept is "sub-stage recyclable and reusable," allowing it to deliver at least 16 tons of cargo to low Earth orbit in a reclaimed state, mainly for launching low-Earth orbit satellites. Its second stage uses a new liquid oxygen-methane engine, which not only validates new powertrains but also lays the foundation for the full use of methane fuel in the future.

What is "network recycling"?

Simply put, the rocket doesn't have to stretch its legs for a hard landing; instead, it uses a large net to "catch" it. It's like a carrier-based aircraft landing on an aircraft carrier, using the tail hook to catch the arresting cable and slow down. When the rocket returns, it first turns around in midair, then uses engine recoil and aerodynamic deceleration, and finally flies precisely back to the recovery ship at sea, where it is suspended on four pre-arranged "well"-shaped ropes.

What makes "network recycling" so good?

Compared to the currently mainstream international "landing leg" solution, "network recycling" has several obvious advantages: lighter and more loadable: rockets don't have to carry heavy landing legs into space, saving more satellites. Easier to succeed: The precision requirements for the rocket's final landing position are less stringent, and the margin for error is higher. More flexible: Recovery vessels can sail to any suitable location at sea, making deployment more convenient.

How big is the ship that catches the rocket?

The successful rocket was successfully "caught" this time, China's first dedicated rocket recovery ship, the "Navigator." This vessel is scheduled for delivery in November 2025, measuring 144 meters in length and 50 meters in width, with a full load displacement of 25,000 tons, resembling a massive mobile offshore landing pad.

｜A股公司如何助力火箭发射与回收？

The successful launch and recovery of the Long March 10B rocket was inseparable from the "divine assistance" of several A-share listed companies behind the scenes. We can divide their work into the following key parts:

1. Providing "super fuel": For Jiufeng Energy
rockets to fly high, high-quality fuel is indispensable. This rocket uses a new generation of green fuel—liquid oxygen-methane. This fuel produces only water and carbon dioxide when burned, making it not only environmentally friendly but also preventing carbon buildup inside the engine, greatly reducing maintenance costs for rocket reuse. Jiufeng Energy was the exclusive "fuel supplier" for this launch, providing the rocket with high-purity liquid methane, liquid oxygen, and other special gases. To meet future high-density launch demands, the company has invested nearly 500 million yuan in dedicated supporting projects and plans to further expand production capacity.

2. Provide key "health check data": The recovery of the Donghua test
rocket requires extremely precise landing, built on extensive preliminary data testing. In February this year, the Long March 10A rocket conducted a crucial flight test. Donghua Test provided a professional mechanical testing system for this test, essentially giving the rocket a comprehensive "health check," accurately measuring its mechanical and aerodynamic characteristics during flight. These valuable data points have laid an irreplaceable foundation for the Long March 10B rocket's precise recovery.

3. Provision of basic components: The Shaanxi Huada
rocket has an extremely complex internal circuit system. Shaanxi Huada mainly supplies electrical connections and component products to ensure stable transmission of signals and power inside the rocket.

4. Market Hotspots and Clarifications:
Because of this successful rocket "capture," many speculated that Juli Rigo, the producer of the ropes, was the contributor behind the scenes, causing its stock price to hit the daily limit on July 10. However, Juli Rigging later issued a clarification statement, saying the company had never signed the rumored 458 million yuan Hainan project, nor did it have orders exceeding 200 million yuan.

Simply put, from providing environmentally friendly and efficient fuel, to precise preliminary data testing, and then to manufacturing basic components, multiple A-share companies each played their roles and jointly ensured the successful success of this historic recycling mission.

| China's "Dual Heroes" in Rocket Recovery: Walking on Two Legs

To make rocket recovery more reliable, China has not "put all the eggs in one basket" in its technical route, but has instead developed two differentiated development routes: "offshore recovery" and "land-based recovery":

1. Offshore Recycling: Safe and "Loadable"

Represented by the Long March 10B from the First Academy of Aerospace and Yuanxingzhe-1 from Jianyuan Technology, the main focus is on offshore recovery.

Why choose the sea? Industry insiders point out that offshore recovery is not only extremely safe (even if an accident occurs, it does not threaten ground personnel), but also minimizes energy loss during rocket return, thereby reserving more weight for satellites (i.e., higher payload capacity). This perfectly aligns with the future demand for large-scale satellite launches.

Industry Layout: Currently, Wenchang in Hainan, Yantai in Shandong, and Yangjiang in Guangdong are actively building supporting offshore launch and recovery systems. Jianyuan Technology also plans to conduct the first sea flight and recovery test of Yuanhangzhe-1 by the end of this year.

2. Land recovery: vertical soft landing with "legs."

Represented by BlueArrow Aerospace's Zhuque-3 and the Eighth Academy of Aerospace's Long March 12A, the traditional "landing leg" scheme is used, allowing rockets to land vertically at land recovery sites like helicopters.

Zhuque-3's performance: As a rocket developed for large-scale constellation networking missions, Zhuque-3 is designed to be reusable at least 20 times. During its maiden flight in December 2025, it successfully placed the satellite into orbit, but the first stage of the rocket suffered an abnormal burning during recovery and failed to achieve a soft landing. However, its Yao-2 mission is about to begin and is highly anticipated by the industry.

If Zhuque-3 successfully validates recycling technology next, China will become the first country in the world to simultaneously master both "maritime network system recycling" and "land-based landing leg recycling" technologies. These two routes complement each other and will jointly drive China's commercial space industry into a new era of low cost and high frequency.

Jingtai Perspective | From "Thematic Storytelling" to "Industrialized Realization"

Recyclable technology breaks through capacity bottlenecks, and commercial aerospace enters the fast lane of cost reduction

The success of the Long March 10B "net capture" technology marks China's entry into the global first tier in the field of reusable rockets.

For commercial aerospace, launch costs and frequency are core pain points. Once recyclable technology becomes standardized, launch costs are expected to drop by 80%, completely breaking through the "capacity bottleneck" of mass networking of tens of thousands of low-orbit satellite constellations (such as Qianfan and GW). The industry logic will shift from early "technical validation" to the "industrialization realization" stage.

Focusing on the "water seller" logic, it is laying out space specialty consumables and infrastructure

As rocket launches move toward higher frequency and normalization, supporting facilities and core consumables at launch sites are set to experience a definite explosion. Just as Jiufeng Energy exclusively supplies liquid oxygen-methane, liquid oxygen-methane, with its zero carbon deposits and low-cost characteristics, perfectly meets rocket reuse needs.

It is recommended to focus on enterprises deeply tied to commercial launch sites such as Hainan, with special gas supply capability, as well as core infrastructure targets participating in offshore recovery platform and transmission tower construction.

Focus on the industrial chain segmentation dividends brought by the parallel "sea-land dual-track" approach

Currently, China has formed a dual-track parallel pattern of "maritime network system recovery" represented by Long March 10B and "vertical landing on land" represented by Zhuque-3. This differentiated complementarity will generate various supply chain demands. For example, mesh system recycling places new demands on flexible blocking cables and high-precision capture systems; Meanwhile, land recycling has strong demand for high-strength landing legs and precision servo mechanisms. Investors can follow these two technical routes to discover "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" enterprises with core component supporting capabilities.