HELSINKI — China launched its first Long March 12 rocket Saturday, marking an advance in its crewed moon plans and the debut of a brand new spaceport that may enhance the nation’s entry to area.
The two-stage, 62-meter-tall Long March 12 lifted off at 9:25 a.m. Eastern (1425 UTC) Nov. 30 from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. The rocket climbed into the night time sky above the coastal spaceport, with beginner reside streams from the realm capturing the occasion.
The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), the rocket’s maker, declared launch success inside an hour of liftoff. SAST introduced the beforehand undisclosed payloads on the flight to be the experimental “Satellite Internet Technology Test Satellite” and “Technology Test Satellite-3”. No particulars of the spacecraft had been supplied.
The kerosene-fueled Long March 12 is China’s first 3.8-meter-diameter launch car. It can carry a payload of 12,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO), and 6,000 kg to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), in response to SAST. The new rocket might play a task within the development of China’s deliberate LEO megaconstellations.
The launch is a step ahead for SAST in bringing new rockets on-line, for its dad or mum firm CASC within the improvement of recent rocket engines for its lunar plans and, via the debut launch from the brand new business Wenchang spaceport, the easing of a bottleneck in entry to launch pads in China. It is distinct from Wenchang’s present nationwide spaceport and is made to allow larger launch frequencies for a number of CASC and business rockets.
China had aimed to launch round 70 Long March rockets in 2024 and roughly one other 30 launches from business suppliers. An absence of reusable launchers and choices for launch pads doubtless contributed to the slower than anticipated tempo, with the launch being China’s 59th orbital launch try with only a month of 2024 remaining.
The launch was the primary flight use of the YF-100K engine, with the Long March 12 utilizing 4 YF-100K engines on its first stage. The YF-100K is an uprated model of the YF-100 kerosene-liquid oxygen engines that energy China’s new-generation liquid propellant rockets. These newer rockets embrace the Long March 5, 6, 7 and eight.
The YF-100K notably will energy the primary phases of the Long March 10 rocket. That launcher is meant to ship China’s astronauts to the moon earlier than the tip of the last decade. A reusable model of the engine, the YF-100N, can also be being developed.
It is unclear how the Long March 12 might be used, with it being in the identical class as the present Long March 7 and several other launchers from China’s business sector. It is, nevertheless, a way more economical choice than the Long March 7, which was designed to be rated for human spaceflight and is used to ship cargo spacecraft to the Tiangong area station.
The Long March 12 has a a lot decrease mass at takeoff (430,000 kg and 597,000 kg for Long March 7) and doesn’t function aspect boosters. It additionally has a a lot bigger payload fairing quantity—with both 4.2m or 5.2m-diameter fairings—thus making it probably very helpful for China’s Guowang and Qianfan/Thousand Sails megaconstellations. The latter venture alone envisions 14,000 satellites in LEO, which might require launching a mean of simply over seven satellites per day, day-after-day, till the tip of the last decade.
SAST has additionally revealed plans to develop reusable methane-liquid oxygen launchers. It has carried out a profitable vertical takeoff, vertical touchdown (VTVL) check utilizing a 3.8-meter-diameter methalox check article.
The launch was China’s 59th orbital launch try of 2024, following the primary launch of the improved business Zhuque-2 methane-liquid oxygen rocket Nov. 26. Another Zhuque-2E rocket might fly as quickly as December, whereas a Long March 5B with an unknown payload might additionally fly earlier than the tip of the yr. Launches from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center are additionally anticipated in early December.
