China’s next-generation launch vehicle Long March-12 is about to conduct its first orbital launch… likely in August

China’s next-generation launch vehicle, the Long March-12, is set to conduct its first orbital launch soon.

The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), which developed the rocket, held a ceremony on July 17 to commemorate the rocket’s development and revealed its readiness status.

Currently, the Long March-12 is located at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island in southern China.

The exact launch schedule has not been disclosed, but local experts anticipate a launch in August. Information regarding the payload has not yet been revealed.

The Long March-12 is a two-stage rocket capable of carrying up to 12 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) and up to 6 tons to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). It is planned to be used for the deployment of various low-orbit satellite constellations.

Notably, the Long March-12 has a diameter of 3.8 meters, a unique feature among Chinese launch vehicles.

For this rocket, China developed the new YF-100K engine. This engine uses kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants and is an upgraded version of the existing YF-100 engine.

The YF-100 engine is also used in the Long March-6, Long March-7, and Long March-8 rockets. The Long March-12’s first stage is equipped with four YF-100K engines, while its second stage has two YF-115 engines.

The YF-100K engine is also planned to be used in the Long March-10 rocket, which will be employed in future Chinese manned missions.

Additionally, a redesigned version of the YF-100K engine, the YF-100N, is currently under development to make it reusable.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology has also announced plans to develop a reusable launch vehicle that uses methane and liquid oxygen as propellants.

In June, they successfully completed a vertical takeoff and landing test of the first stage propulsion system for technology verification. The first orbital launch of the reusable rocket is scheduled for 2025 and is expected to carry up to 6.5 tons to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km.

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