On June 1, the Long March 12 Yiyuan-1 carrier rocket was launched from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone, successfully sending the Qianfan Polar Orbit 08 satellite into the predetermined orbit. The flight test mission was a complete success.

The Long March 12B launch vehicle is a new generation single-core four-meter reusable launch vehicle developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Commercial Rocket Co., Ltd. It is mainly designed to meet my country's commercial launch needs such as large-scale Internet constellation networking.

At 16:40 on June 1, the Long March 12-Yoyuan-1 carrier rocket was launched from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Wang Jiangbo)

The rocket adopts a two-stage configuration and a full liquid oxygen and kerosene power solution. It has a total height of approximately 72 meters and a diameter of 4.37 meters. It has the ability to adapt to multi-orbit missions. The rocket optimizes the overall layout and applies innovative designs such as integrated tail section design, large-diameter common bottom tank, and inter-stage pneumatic separation technology. It has a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 20 tons. It is currently my country's single-core rocket with the largest carrying capacity.

The person in charge of model development said that the rocket is equipped with flight control software with fault diagnosis and reconstruction functions, which can independently respond to abnormal conditions during flight and improve mission reliability. At the same time, the innovative application of gas-injection accumulator technology simplifies the valve pipeline that suppresses longitudinal coupling vibration and enhances flight safety from the system level.

In terms of development efficiency, the team completed the entire process from drawing design to first flight of the model in 21 months, and shortened the final assembly test cycle through digital collaborative design. The launch end adopts a self-built research and test station with multi-propellant compatibility and rapid recovery capabilities, which effectively shortens the launch cycle.

In addition, the rocket has conducted multiple explorations in cost control, including supply chain system optimization, vehicle-grade device application, etc., to promote the reduction of orbital cost per unit mass.

The relevant person in charge of China Commercial Fire said that the successful entry of the Long March 12B carrier rocket has provided new carrying capacity support for subsequent high-density launches and large-scale constellation networking. The company is steadily advancing reuse technology research to improve the efficiency and flexibility of launch services. (Reporters Gu Tiancheng and Zhang Jiansong)