Monday’s launch did not include any attempt to land the first stage booster, but the rocket carried grid fins and landing legs, important hardware elements for future recovery experiments. A statement released by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), CACL’s parent company, declared the first flight of the Long March 12B a “complete success” in a post-launch statement.
“This launch adds another high-capacity commercial rocket to [China’s] fleet for large-scale Internet constellation networking missions,” CASC said. “No recovery tests were conducted during this mission; however, first-stage recovery tests are scheduled to be carried out at a later, opportune time.”
Satellites for one of these large-scale Internet constellations rode to space aboard the Long March 12B, which released a batch of Qianfan broadband spacecraft into low-Earth orbit. Qianfan is one of China’s two leading mega-constellations, each seeking to replicate for China what SpaceX’s Starlink does in the United States.
Who’s involved?
The Long March rocket family dates back to 1970, when China launched its first satellite into orbit using the Long March 1 vehicle derived from Chinese ballistic missiles. Many iterations have followed. The Long March 2, 3, and 4 rockets were China’s workhorses in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. These rockets remain operational but are being replaced by newer models, such as the Long March 5, 6, 7, and 8, which can launch everything from small satellites to massive modules for China’s space station.
Somewhat confusingly, the Long March 12 family now includes three dissimilar designs. The original Long March 12, with four kerosene-fueled main engines, launched for the first time in 2024, sporting a conventional, expendable design. The partially reusable Long March 12A launched in December, replacing the Long March 12’s kerosene-fueled engines with a methane-fueled propulsion system outsourced to a private engine builder. The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) managed the development of the Long March 12 and 12A.
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