Morgan Stanley said in a July 10 report that China’s Long March 10B completed its first orbital flight and a successful sea recovery, making China the third entity in the world to master orbital-class rocket recovery technology. The bank said the technical route has now been proven.
The report described Long March 10B as the reusable single-core version in the Long March 10 family, with payload capacity of about 16 tons in its reusable configuration. It also noted that a U.S. Space Force official had said earlier this year that China would need about 3.5 years to master rocket reusability, and that this latest milestone may shorten that timeline.
Morgan Stanley also pointed to launch cadence and satellite plans. China completed 90 orbital launches in 2025, second only to SpaceX’s 165, according to the report. Reusable rockets being developed by commercial players including LandSpace are expected to enter service between 2026 and 2027. The report also listed major LEO constellation plans, including 12,992 satellites for Guowang, 15,000 for Qianfan, and 10,000 for Honghu, while adding that orbital computing has been written into China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and that a 2,800-satellite “Star Computing” orbital supercomputing network has started. Morgan Stanley said China is the biggest long-term competitive threat to SpaceX.
First orbital flight and sea recovery for Long March 10B
According to TechFlow, citing Chaoxiang Research, Morgan Stanley said in a July 10 report that China’s Long March 10B completed its first orbital flight and a successful sea recovery. The bank said that made China the third entity globally to master orbital-class rocket recovery technology, with the technical route now validated.
The report described Long March 10B as the reusable single-core version of the Long March 10 family, with payload capacity of about 16 tons in a reusable configuration.
Milestone may pull forward prior estimates
Morgan Stanley said a U.S. Space Force official had estimated earlier this year that China would need about 3.5 more years to master rocket reusability. After this debut, that timetable may move up.
Launch pace and constellation plans
The report said China completed 90 orbital launches in 2025, second only to SpaceX’s 165. It also said reusable rockets under development by commercial companies including LandSpace are expected to begin operations from 2026 to 2027.
Morgan Stanley also listed China’s planned LEO constellations: 12,992 satellites for Guowang, 15,000 for Qianfan, and 10,000 for Honghu. The report added that orbital computing has been included in the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan, and that a 2,800-satellite “Star Computing” orbital supercomputing network has already started.
Based on those developments, Morgan Stanley said China is the largest long-term competitive threat to SpaceX.
This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan. Disclaimer:
The market information, project data, and third-party content displayed on this platform are for industry information sharing only and do not constitute any form of investment advice or return commitment.
Cryptocurrency trading carries high risks. Users should fully assess their risk tolerance and make independent decisions. All profits, losses, and legal responsibilities are borne by the users themselves.
