Hey space explorers! 🚀 This morning, the Chinese mainland's Long March-12A carrier rocket completed its maiden flight, propelling its second stage right into the preset orbit. This marks only the second time a liquid oxygen-methane launcher from the Chinese mainland has tried a booster recovery on its debut mission.
While the orbit insertion was spot-on, the first-stage recovery test fell short of expectations. But that's not a setback – engineers are already digging into the flight data to fine-tune the design for cleaner landings next time.
This mission adds to the growing global trend toward reusable rocket tech, promising lower launch costs and more frequent space missions. With these insights, the Chinese mainland's space agency is gearing up for even greener, more efficient flights in the near future.
Stay tuned as the next launch countdown begins! The journey to reusable success is just taking off. 🔧✨
Reference(s):
China's Long March-12A rocket reaches orbit on maiden flight
cgtn.com
