---
type: source
title: "China builds 25,000-ton rocket-catching ship designed to capture Long March boosters at sea"
author: "Prototyping China / MirCode (aggregated)"
url: https://www.prototypingchina.com/2026/03/10/china-builds-rocket-catching-ship-25000-ton-vessel-designed-to-capture-long-march-boosters-at-sea/
date: 2026-03-10
domain: space-development
secondary_domains: []
format: report
status: null-result
priority: medium
tags: [china, recovery-infrastructure, rocket-catching, ling-hang-zhe, reusability]
processed_by: astra
processed_date: 2026-03-11
enrichments_applied: ["China is the only credible peer competitor in space with comprehensive capabilities and state-directed acceleration closing the reusability gap in 5-8 years.md"]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
extraction_notes: "Extracted two claims: (1) Ling Hang Zhe as signal of operational vs experimental commitment, (2) three divergent recovery paradigms as evidence of convergent capability. Enriched existing China space competitor claim with concrete infrastructure evidence. Source provides strong evidence that reusability solutions are diversifying rather than converging on SpaceX's specific approach."
---

## Content
China is building a dedicated rocket-catching vessel named Ling Hang Zhe (The Navigator/The Pioneer):
- 25,000-ton displacement, 472 feet (144m) long
- Designed specifically to catch descending rocket first stages using cables and nets
- Fundamentally different from SpaceX's land-based tower catch (Mechazilla) or Blue Origin's ship-based propulsive landing (Jacklyn)
- Ship was seen leaving shipyard for sea trials in early February 2026
- Recovery gantry and cable system were installed after initial delivery

The sea-based approach offers advantages:
- Safety: keeps falling debris away from populated areas
- Flexibility: ship can reposition for different mission trajectories
- Scalability: multiple ships could support high launch cadence from different sites

This is the first ship in the world built solely to catch rockets with a net/cable system.

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** Purpose-built recovery infrastructure signals long-term commitment to reusable launch — this isn't a test, it's an operational system. The investment in a dedicated ship suggests China plans for sustained high-cadence reusable operations.
**What surprised me:** The scale (25,000 tons) and the fundamentally different engineering approach. Three different recovery paradigms are now being developed: tower catch (SpaceX), propulsive ship landing (Blue Origin), and cable-net ship catch (China). Convergent function, divergent implementation.
**What I expected but didn't find:** Timeline for when the ship becomes operational. Cost data. Whether it can handle the Long March 9 (super-heavy) or only the LM-10 class.
**KB connections:** [[China is the only credible peer competitor in space with comprehensive capabilities and state-directed acceleration closing the reusability gap in 5-8 years]]
**Extraction hints:** The divergent recovery approaches (tower/ship-propulsive/cable-net) suggest reusability is not one technology but a family of solutions. Extract as evidence that the engineering solutions for reuse are broader than the SpaceX paradigm.
**Context:** China's approach to space infrastructure has consistently emphasized parallel development of multiple systems. This ship is part of a larger ecosystem that includes multiple launch sites and vehicle types.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[China is the only credible peer competitor in space with comprehensive capabilities and state-directed acceleration closing the reusability gap in 5-8 years]]
WHY ARCHIVED: Purpose-built recovery infrastructure as evidence of operational (not experimental) Chinese reusability commitment
EXTRACTION HINT: Three divergent recovery paradigms (tower catch, propulsive ship landing, cable-net catch) as evidence that reusability is a convergent capability, not a SpaceX-specific innovation


## Key Facts
- Ling Hang Zhe: 25,000-ton displacement, 472 feet (144m) long
- Ship entered sea trials February 2026 with recovery gantry and cable systems installed
- First ship in the world built solely to catch rockets with net/cable system
- Three active recovery paradigms: SpaceX tower catch (Mechazilla), Blue Origin propulsive ship landing (Jacklyn), China cable-net ship catch (Ling Hang Zhe)
