For decades, the cost of placing a kilogram of payload into low Earth orbit has constrained the commercial expansion of space. China’s state-run space industry, historically dependent on expendable Long March rockets with estimated per-kilogram costs between $5,000 and $10,000, is now pursuing reusability as a way to break through that barrier. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is developing the Long March 10B, a rocket designed to reduce launch costs by 30 to 50 percent, according to CALT projections.
If those targets are met, the vehicle would narrow the gap with the cost efficiencies demonstrated by SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which has driven its own price to approximately $2,720 per kilogram to low Earth orbit. By contrast, traditional expendable rockets worldwide typically cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per kilogram.
Cost reduction goals and the competitive landscape
The Long March rocket family takes its name from the Chinese Red Army’s Long March military retreat in the 1930s and is operated by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Early vehicles in the family derived from China’s Dongfeng program of ballistic missiles: the Long March 1 came from an intermediate-range ballistic missile, while the later Long March 2, 3, and 4 families trace their origins to an intercontinental ballistic missile. Those older rockets use a hypergolic propellant mixture.
China launched its first satellite using a Long March 1 rocket, becoming one of the early nations to achieve independent launch capability. Early launches had an inconsistent record, with the program focusing on Chinese satellites.
The Long March 2F was later developed as a human-rated vehicle for the Shenzhou crewed spacecraft. The Long March 5, a heavy-lift vehicle, has launched probes to Mars and the Moon. A new generation of rockets — including the Long March 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 — shifted to liquid oxygen combined with liquid hydrogen or kerosene fuels. The Long March 10 is currently under development as a launch vehicle for China’s planned crewed lunar missions.
Its variant, the Long March 10B, aims to incorporate reusability for the first time in the state-run rocket family. Reusability would mark a significant departure for the Long March fleet, which has historically been expendable.
This change mirrors a broader global shift in rocketry, where reusable boosters have become a major goal for lowering the cost of access to space. The success of the Long March 10B could bring China closer to the cost paradigm set by SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 has reshaped the American launch market through reusability and aggressive pricing.
Implications for China’s space economy and commercial ambitions
The implications for China’s broader space economy are significant. That economy was valued at $55 billion in 2023, and commercial launch services within it have been growing at 15 percent annually. Lower per-kilogram costs could accelerate the deployment of satellite internet constellations, expand Earth observation capabilities, and open the door to space tourism — sectors where China has been investing heavily but where cost has remained a limiting factor. China’s government has also encouraged private space companies — firms such as LandSpace and Galactic Energy — to develop their own reusable rockets.
The source indicates that Beijing sees commercial competition as a driver of innovation, even as state-owned enterprises like CALT remain the dominant players in heavy-lift launch. The Long March 10B’s reusability is not just a domestic story.
Lower launch costs could attract international customers looking for alternatives to SpaceX, though significant hurdles remain. Export controls on sensitive rocket technology and the sheer competitive weight of SpaceX’s established Falcon 9 fleet present real challenges. Still, the trajectory is clear.
China’s space industry, long defined by state-directed missions and steady incremental improvement, is now pursuing the same cost revolution that reshaped the American launch market. The Long March 10B’s success or failure will tell much about whether that revolution can be replicated under a different political and industrial model.
With the nation’s space economy expanding rapidly and commercial launch services broadening, the ability to drive down costs through reusability may determine how quickly China can scale its satellite infrastructure and compete for international launch business. The historic reliance on expendable rockets, rooted in the Long March family’s ballistic missile heritage, is giving way to a new approach that could transform both China’s domestic capabilities and its role in the global launch market.
