WENCHANG, Hainan – China successfully launched the Long March-10B carrier rocket at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in South China's Hainan province on Friday, achieving its first-ever controlled recovery of a carrier rocket's first stage.

The rocket, in its maiden flight, sent the payload into the preset orbit.

ALSO READ: China's Long March-8 rocket launches new internet satellites

After the separation of the rocket's first and second stages, the first stage returned and was successfully captured on a seaborne platform via a net-capture system. Both the launch and the first-stage recovery were successfully completed.

This mission marked China's first successful controlled recovery of a carrier rocket's first stage, representing a major breakthrough in the country's reusable rocket technology.