China’s space program took an important step on Friday toward its elusive goal of competing with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, in the race to dominate the satellite industry.

中国的航天计划在周五迈出了重要的一步，距离一个难以企及的目标——与埃隆·马斯克的SpaceX争夺卫星产业主导权——又近了一步。

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, a government entity, launched a Long March 10B rocket and recovered its bottom part, called the first stage, a few minutes later. This essential step toward reusing the rocket’s parts for future missions could signal a long-awaited breakthrough for Chinese satellite companies.

中国航天科技集团（一家政府实体）发射了一枚“长征十号乙”火箭（下称“长十乙”），并在几分钟后回收了被称为一子级的底部。这是未来在任务中重复使用火箭部件的一个关键步骤，可能意味着中国卫星公司将迎来期待已久的突破。

SpaceX revolutionized the industry with its partially reusable Falcon 9 rocket, whose first stage returns to the launchpad upright after launch. Falcon 9 can send satellites into orbit in rapid succession, which has given SpaceX a significant edge. Every day that passed without a reusable Chinese launcher, SpaceX pulled further ahead. SpaceX has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and is a world leader in satellite internet.

SpaceX凭借其部分可重复使用的“猎鹰9号”火箭彻底改变了该行业，该火箭一子级在发射后会垂直返回发射台。“猎鹰9号”能够在短时间内接连将卫星送入轨道，这为SpaceX赢得了巨大的优势。中国可复用火箭一天不成，就一天无法追上日渐拉开距离的SpaceX。SpaceX在轨道上拥有超过10000颗卫星，是卫星互联网领域的全球领导者。

Chinese companies have been launching satellites with single-use rockets, letting their parts tumble back to Earth or become space debris after every launch. Two Chinese satellite constellations that hope to rival SpaceX’s have launched just over 400 satellites between them.

中国公司此前一直使用一次性火箭发射卫星，每次发射后都任由其部件跌落回地球或成为太空垃圾。两个希望与SpaceX抗衡的中国卫星星座总共仅发射了400多颗卫星。

That may be about to change.

这种情况可能即将发生改变。

The Long March 10B launched from the Wenchang spaceport in Hainan, an island off China’s southern coast, just after noon on Friday.

周五中午刚过，“长十乙”火箭从位于中国南部沿海岛屿海南的文昌航天发射场发射升空。

The rocket’s bottom part returned upright to a platform at sea, six minutes after separating from the upper part. It slowly descended to a pad that was fitted with nets to capture the rocket parts, according to a video released by Chinese state media. The nets proved to be China’s nifty solution for recovering rocket boosters.

在与火箭上部分离六分钟后，火箭底部垂直返回到海上的一个平台上。根据中国官方媒体发布的一段视频，它缓缓降落在一个安装了网具以捕捉火箭部件的平台上。事实证明，这些网具是中国回收火箭助推器的一种高明解决方案。

It is the “world’s first net‑based recovery of a launch vehicle,” the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said.

中国航天科技集团表示，这是“全球首次运载火箭网系回收”。

The country built the offshore platform last year and tested it in February. The first stage of a predecessor rocket ended up splashing down at sea. Friday’s mission built on the results of that test, according to official statements.

中国于去年建造了这一海上平台，并在2月对其进行了测试。之前的火箭的一子级最终坠入了大海，而周五的任务正是建立在那次测试结果的基础之上。

The Long March 10B rocket was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of the government corporation. It is part of the Long March 10 series of rockets, some of which are designed for China’s first crewed mission to the Moon expected by 2030.

“长十乙”火箭由隶属于前述政府实体的中国运载火箭技术研究院研制。它是“长征十号”系列火箭的一部分，该系列中的部分火箭设计用于中国计划在2030年前执行的首次载人登月任务。

It is about 200 feet high and is designed to deliver up to 16 metric tons of spacecraft, such as satellites, to low-earth orbit. During Friday’s test, the rocket’s upper stage successfully launched an unspecified number of satellites, the government said.

火箭高约63米，旨在向近地轨道运送最重可达16吨的航天器（如卫星）。政府表示，在周五的测试中，火箭的上级成功发射了未具体说明数量的卫星。

Future flight tests will be done by the end of this year, the company said. It did not respond to questions.

该公司表示，下一次飞行测试将在今年年底前进行，但未回应相关提问。

The engines in the rocket’s first stage use liquid oxygen and kerosene and its upper stage engine uses liquid oxygen and methane.

该火箭一子级的发动机使用液氧和煤油，上级发动机则使用液氧和甲烷。

Two previous attempts had failed to create China’s answer to the Falcon 9. Landspace, a private company, was the first in China to test a partially reusable rocket in December. The rocket, Zhuque-3, launched successfully but its first stage lost control on its descent to the launchpad.

此前的两次试图打造中国版“猎鹰9号”的尝试宣告失败。去年12月，私营公司蓝箭航天在中国率先测试部分可重复使用火箭。名为“朱雀三号”的火箭成功发射，但一子级在降落回发射台时失去了控制。

Another rocket in the Long March series, the Long March 12, also failed a recovery test in December. The rocket’s upper stage arrived at the planned orbit but its bottom part could not be recovered.

长征系列中的另一枚火箭——长征十二号，也在12月的回收测试中失败。该火箭的上级抵达了预定轨道，但其底部无法回收。

Though Friday’s test represents a breakthrough, the Chinese government must conduct multiple test launches to find and solve any problems with the rocket. Only then can it hope to compete with SpaceX, which has outpaced every other global competitor over the last seven years.

尽管周五的测试代表了一项突破，但中国政府必须进行多次测试发射，以发现并解决火箭存在的任何问题。只有这样，它才有望与SpaceX展开竞争，而后者在过去七年里已经把全球每一个竞争对手甩在身后。