Xie Liaofu's concerns were answered 10 minutes later.
The Pioneer spacecraft still needed to glide for a while before igniting again to achieve orbit, but the belatedly arriving enhanced Core Stage One finally penetrated the atmosphere, beginning to adjust its attitude to enter the recovery program.
The situation Xie Liaofu worried about did not occur, as the signals sent back by the rocket indicated everything was normal, meaning it at least wasn't burnt up by the atmosphere.
When the core stage, having decelerated several times, appeared magnified on the ground camera's screen, the launch center still got a shock.
The surface of the enhanced Core Stage Two, on its maiden flight, looked as if it had been used at least 10 times or more due to the longer duration and higher velocity of scorching; the charred body completely obscured any prints on the surface.
