Long March 12A rocket launched on 21:00 in the Eastern time 22 December (02:00 UTC, 23 December) from a dedicated site in the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area at the Jiuquan Spaceport.
It was expected, that the first stage will re-enter the atmosphere after separation and land on the pad, located about 250 kilometers from the take-off zone in Mingqin County, Gansu Province. Images and satellite images, published in social networks, indicate an unsuccessful landing, perhaps, it took place approximately two kilometers from the site.
Initial reports indicated that, that the rocket has reached orbit, but official confirmation from China's space authorities came only two hours after the launch. Despite the failed landing attempt, SAST stated, that received important engineering data in real flight conditions, which laid an important foundation for subsequent launches and reliable recovery of the stages. A comprehensive review and technical reassessment will then be conducted.
"Long March 12A" is a long rocket 70,4 meter and diameter 3,8 meters, which works on methane-liquefied oxygen engines. Its take-off mass is 437 metric tons.
It was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (Hes) under the auspices of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (Hull), the main state contractor for space projects. SAST conducted high-altitude launch and landing tests in January, without commenting on the results, while CASC has also been experimenting with lattice fins on rockets since at least 2019 year.
CASC is also preparing to launch the Long March series of multiple-use missiles 10 in 2026 year, particularly for future manned launches.
Monday's Long March 12A launch was China's 88th attempt to enter orbit in 2025 year after the launch of the classified TJS-23 satellite from the Wenchang Cosmodrome 20 December.
This launch and landing attempt followed China's first orbital recovery attempt 3 December. Then the Zhuque-3 missile, developed by commercial company Landspace, also reached orbit, but experienced an anomaly during the braking pulse for landing. The Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A are just two of a number of missiles, which are being developed in China to demonstrate reusability
It is considered, that Landspace is currently planning the next launch and landing attempt of the Zhuque-3 rocket in April.
Source: https://spacenews.com