Engineering:Long March 10B

Short description: Chinese commercial medium-lift rocket

Long March 10B

Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	70.2 m (230 ft)
Diameter	5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO	16,000 kg (35,000 lb)
Payload to LEO	11,000 kg (24,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Comparable	Long March 7 Neutron Zhuque-3 Falcon 9
Launch history
Status	In development
Launch sites	Wenchang Commercial
First stage
Engines	7 × YF-100K
Thrust	SL: 8,750 kN (1,970,000 lbf) vac: 9,772 kN (2,197,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	SL: 301.6 s (2.958 km/s) vac: 337 s (3.30 km/s)
Burn time	227 seconds
Fuel	RP-1 / LOX
Second stage
Engines	1 × YF-219
Fuel	CH4 / LOX

Long March 10B (Chinese: 长征十号乙) is an under-development, two-stage, medium-lift partially reusable launch vehicle with a first-stage powered by kerosene and liquid oxygen and a second-stage powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen. It is the third in the Long March 10 series of rockets and is derived using technologies developed for the Long March 10A. It will be operated by Chinarocket Co, Ltd, the commercial arm of CALT.

The first test launch of the rocket is anticipated to occur in the first-half of 2026.

Overview

In December 2025, a representative from the commercial arm of CALT (Chinarocket Co., Ltd.) presented plans for a commercial variant of the Long March 10A during the Wenchang International Aviation and Aerospace Forum 2025. This new variant, the Long March 10B, will have a payload capacity of at least 16 tonnes, likely in a reusable mode, to a 200 km low Earth orbit, and at least 11 tonnes to a 900 km orbit at 50 degrees orbital inclination.

The new CZ-10B inherits the first stage of the Long March 10A but reportedly will use a more powerful second stage that employs methane and liquid oxygen as fuel and oxidizer respectively. The Long March 10B is anticipated to have a debut launch during the first half of 2026. There may also be an additional commercial variant tentatively named the Long March 10C. The first stage of the CZ-10B, just as the CZ-10A variant, will be recoverable via a "wire recovery apparatus" located on a recovery vessel after launch from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on Hainan island (the first-stage of the rocket is equipped with hooks that will catch the wire-network on the recovery ship; the tensioned wires are carried by rail-mounted dollies which automatically position themselves to optimize the likelihood that the rocket will successfully "catch" the wires).

Launches

The first launch of the CZ-10B is scheduled for no earlier than May 2026; a first stage booster recovery attempt may also occur for this launch.

Flight No.	Rocket	Serial No.	Date/Time (UTC)	Payload	Orbit	Launch site	Outcome	Booster Recovery
1	CZ-10B	X1	July 2026	TBA	LEO	Wenchang Commercial	Planned	Planned
	Debut orbital flight of CZ-10B, a partially reusable, cargo-optimized variant of the CZ-10 series for launching China's Satellite Internet megaconstellation.

See also

• China National Space Administration
• List of Long March launches (2025-2029)
• Comparison of orbital launchers families
• Comparison of orbital launch systems
• Falcon 9
• Long March 10
• Space program of China