China carried out a chinese rocket launch on June 1, sending the reusable Long March 12B up from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The first flight lifted off at 4:40 a.m. Eastern, or 0840 UTC, and CASC said launch success within an hour.
The debut mission carried operational payloads into orbit for the Shanghai-led Qianfan broadband megaconstellation. Orbital tracking data later showed two Qianfan satellites in 1,020–1,048 km polar orbits, with the upper stage in a 737 by 1,022 km orbit.
Jiuquan Launch Without Notices
No apparent airspace notices were issued before the launch, and the first signs appeared on Chinese social media. That unusual timing left the June 1 liftoff hidden until after the rocket was already in flight, even though the launch pad had been built under the lead of CASC’s China Commercial Launch Vehicle Company.
The Long March 12B has a two-stage configuration, a 4.37-meter-diameter core, and an overall length of approximately 72 meters. Its first stage uses nine YF-102R kerosene-liquid oxygen engines, and its second stage uses one YF-102RV vacuum variant engine.
Qianfan Megaconstellation
CASC said the rocket is designed to reduce launch costs, support China’s growing constellation programs, and adapt to multi-orbit missions. The stated low Earth orbit payload capacity is approximately 20,000 kilograms, which gives the vehicle a role beyond a single demonstration flight.
The Qianfan, or Thousand Sails, program is a Shanghai-led broadband megaconstellation, and the debut launch added satellites to that network. If the mission followed the usual batch size of 18, the constellation would stand at 180 satellites in orbit.
Recovery Test Later
The launch did not include a first stage recovery attempt, even though the Long March 12B is designed to be reusable. CASC said a recovery test will come later, leaving the rocket’s next operational step tied to a separate attempt rather than this maiden flight.
The vehicle underwent a successful static-fire test in January before the June 1 launch. That sequence now leaves China with a reusable launcher that has already placed operational Qianfan payloads in orbit and a recovery test still ahead.
