China Debuts Reusable Long March 12B in a Surprise Launch, Delivering Qianfan Satellites Without Advance Airspace Notice
China flew its new reusable Long March 12B for the first time on June 1, delivering operational Qianfan megaconstellation satellites with no public airspace warning.
Overview
China conducted the maiden launch of its reusable Long March 12B rocket on Monday, June 1, providing no advance warning and delivering operational payloads to orbit, according to SpaceNews. The vehicle lifted off at 4:40 a.m. Eastern (0840 UTC) from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, SpaceNews reported.
Rather than carrying a test payload on its first flight, the rocket added satellites to the Shanghai-led Qianfan broadband megaconstellation, also known as Thousand Sails, SpaceNews reported. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country’s state-owned main space contractor, announced the launch’s success within an hour of liftoff, according to SpaceNews.
What We Know
Orbital tracking data revealed that the launch inserted two Qianfan satellites into polar orbits at altitudes between roughly 1,020 and 1,048 kilometers, consistent with earlier constellation deployments, SpaceNews reported. Qianfan is designed to rival SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, according to Scientific American.
The Long March 12B features a two-stage configuration with a 4.37-meter-diameter core and an overall length of approximately 72 meters, SpaceNews reported. Its first stage is powered by nine YF-102R kerosene-liquid oxygen engines, with a single YF-102RV vacuum variant on the second stage, and the vehicle has a stated low Earth orbit payload capacity of approximately 20,000 kilograms, according to SpaceNews. Live Science put the rocket’s height at 236 feet (72 meters). Scientific American described the vehicle as similar in capability to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
The YF-102 engine series is not new to China’s commercial launch sector. The engines have previously been used on Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-2 and CAS Space’s Kinetica-2, SpaceNews reported.
The Missing Warning
The debut drew attention as much for what preceded it as for the flight itself. There were no apparent airspace notices issued ahead of the launch, and the first indications that a launch had taken place appeared on Chinese social media, according to SpaceNews. China apparently did not issue any airspace or maritime notices ahead of the maiden launch, Scientific American reported.
Such warnings are standard global safety procedures prior to rocket launches, intended to protect air traffic and shipping from falling debris, Scientific American noted. Under international law, nation states are responsible for any damage that might be caused by rocket launches from their territory, the outlet added. Live Science likewise reported that there were no apparent airspace notices issued for the launch, with the official announcement coming after liftoff.
Reusability Deferred
Though the Long March 12B is meant to be reusable, this flight did not attempt to recover the rocket’s first stage, according to Scientific American. CASC stated that the launch did not involve a first-stage recovery attempt and that such a recovery test will be carried out at a later date, SpaceNews reported. The vehicle’s stated 20,000-kilogram payload figure likely refers to flights in which the first stage is expended rather than recovered, SpaceNews noted.
What We Don’t Know
The full operational cadence of the Long March 12B and the timing of its first recovery attempt have not been disclosed beyond CASC’s statement that a recovery test will follow, according to SpaceNews. The debut follows the introduction of the Long March 12A and precedes the expected debut of further new, potentially reusable Chinese rockets in the coming weeks and months, along with new recovery tests, SpaceNews reported.