China's Carrier Rocket Changzheng-12 First Launch... "100th This Year"

China is expected to set a new national record this year by undertaking approximately 100 space launch missions, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 26th.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) revealed this plan in the "China Aerospace Science and Technology Activity White Paper (2023)" released on the same day.

In particular, numerous satellite launches will be conducted through the commercial space launch site in Wenchang City, Hainan Province, which is scheduled to be completed this year.

Among the rockets to be launched from this site is the Long March-12 carrier rocket.

On October 26 last year, China launched the manned spacecraft Shenzhou 17 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province aboard the Changzheng (Long March)-2F Yao rocket. The three crew members of Shenzhou 17 are currently staying at the space station with the Shenzhou 16 crew for six months, during which they are expected to carry out various space experiments and maintenance and repair tasks for the space station.
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

Currently, all manufacturing processes have been completed, and the overall assembly and testing work is underway.

Chief designer Zheng Yuanhua explained that the Long March-12 is China's first single-core liquid two-stage launch vehicle with a diameter of 3.8 meters, and its payload capacity to low Earth orbit exceeds 10 tons.

According to the white paper, China conducted 67 launch missions last year, ranking second in the world.