China launched its first Long March 12 rocket Saturday, marking an advance in its crewed moon plans and the debut of a new spaceport that will boost the country’s access to space.

The two-stage, 62-meter-tall Long March 12 lifted off at 9:25 a.m. Eastern (1425 UTC) Nov. 30 from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. The rocket climbed into the night sky above the coastal spaceport, with amateur live streams from the area capturing the event.

The kerosene-fueled Long March 12 is China’s first 3.8-meter-diameter launch vehicle. It can carry a payload of 12,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO), and 6,000 kg to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), according to SAST. The new rocket could play a role in the construction of China’s planned LEO megaconstellations.

The launch was the first flight use of the YF-100K engine, with the Long March 12 using four YF-100K engines on its first stage. The YF-100K is an uprated version of the YF-100 kerosene-liquid oxygen engines that power China’s new-generation liquid propellant rockets. These newer rockets include the Long March 5, 6, 7 and 8.

The YF-100K notably will power the first stages of the Long March 10 rocket. That launcher is intended to send China’s astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade. A reusable version of the engine, the YF-100N, is also being developed.

NextSpaceflight page: https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/7576

Demo flight of the Long March 12 launch vehicle.

2 satellites are on board:

• Satellite Internet Technology Demonstration Satellite
• JSW-03

Webcast from International Rocket Launches, courtesy of CSFTV联盟offical/SpaceLens/空天逐梦: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_WM0g-24JA