Hainan: China's first commercial space launch site, the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, carried out its maiden mission on Saturday, with the Long March-12, a newly developed carrier rocket in the series, successfully delivering two satellites into designated orbits. The rocket soared into the sky as the erector was moved aside. The debut of the Long March-12 is packed with a sense of cutting-edge innovations thanks to the application of a "zero-second detachment" technique. According to Emirates News Agency,this launch demonstrates China's dedication to advancing its space transportation infrastructure. With the new model rocket ready for high-frequency launches, China is poised to accelerate satellite constellation deployment. The new rocket model, developed by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), incorporates state-of-the-art design features. Measuring approximately 62 meters in length, the two-stage rocket is China's first 4-meter-class carrier rocket, making it China's most powerful si ngle-core rocket to date. Enhanced capability allows for farther journeys and heavier payloads. The Long March-12 boasts a payload capacity of no less than 12 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) and 6 tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. From the bottom, its 3.8-meter-diameter rocket body accommodates four engines, each with a thrust of 1,250 kilonewtons. These engines are innovative liquid oxygen-kerosene engines with a post-pump gimbaling mechanism. "This slim, tall, and booster-free design of the rocket offers several advantages. Compared to rockets with attached boosters, the single-core design reduces the number of stage separations, providing inherent benefits such as higher reliability and lower costs. However, it also presents a technical challenge - wobbling. Therefore, significant efforts have been made to address this issue," Kang Guohua, a senior member of the Chinese Society of Astronautics and professor of Aerospace Engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told th e Global Times on Sunday. The mission also marked the inauguration of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, China's first dedicated commercial space launch facility. Completed in just 878 days from construction to operation, the Global Times learned.
