China Launches Long March 12 from Hainan, Sending Two Satellites into Orbit

Nov 30, 2024, 04:32 PM

China has successfully launched its new Long March 12 carrier rocket from the newly established Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center in Wenchang City, Hainan Province. The launch, which took place on Saturday night, marked the first mission from China's first commercial spaceport dedicated to facilitating commercial operations. The Long March 12, a single-core stage liquid launch vehicle with a diameter of 3.8 meters, lifted off at 10:48 p.m. Beijing Time, deploying two experimental satellites into their planned orbits: the Satellite Internet Technology Test Satellite and Technology Test Satellite 03. This launch signifies a major step in China's space ambitions, showcasing its capabilities in commercial spaceflight and contributing to the nation's lunar plans. The rocket, powered by 6 liquid oxygen/kerosene engines, has a liftoff mass of 430 tons, providing 5000kN of thrust at liftoff, with a capacity to lift 12 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 6 tons to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).