Long March 12 to debut from new space complex

China's newest carrier rocket, the Long March 12, is scheduled to make its debut flight, which will also be the first launch at the new Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center, the nation's first spaceport dedicated to facilitating commercial operations.

The first Long March 12 was moved on Tuesday morning to the No 2 launch service tower at the new space complex in Hainan province's coastal city of Wenchang, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the rocket model's developer, said in a brief news release, noting the maiden flight will take place in the near future.

The Long March 12 is the first Chinese rocket with a diameter of 3.8 meters; most Chinese rockets have a diameter of 3.35 meters. A wider body means the rocket can contain more propellants than 3.35-meter-wide models, giving it greater carrying capacity.

It has two stages with a combined height of more than 60 meters. Propelled by six liquid oxygen-kerosene-fueled engines, the model is capable of transporting spacecraft with a combined weight of about 10 metric tons to a low-Earth orbit or 6 tons of satellites to a typical sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometers, according to the Shanghai academy, a subsidiary of State-owned conglomerate China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center is a joint venture of the Hainan provincial government and three State-owned space conglomerates — China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp and China Satellite Network Group.

Construction of the center, which began in July 2022, was undertaken by China Aerospace Construction Group.

Its No 1 launch service tower was completed in late December and is specifically tasked with servicing Long March 8 carrier rockets.

The second tower was finished in early June. It is capable of servicing more than 10 types of liquid-propellant carrier rockets, including those in the Long March family and models developed by private companies.

After starting formal operation, the new spaceport will become the fifth ground-based launch complex in China and the first dedicated to facilitating commercial space missions, generally paid for by a business entity, rather than government-funded programs.