Long March family

Long March 12B

Long March 12B/Changzheng 12B (LM-12B/CZ-12B) is a reusable orbital launch vehicle developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group (CACL), a subsidiary company of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The rocket is based on the Long March 12, but extensively re-designed for first stage re-usability, and use of gas generator cycle kerosene/liquid oxygen powered rocket engines in both stages. The first stage uses 9 YF-102R engines and the second stage uses 1 YF-102V engine, both from CASC's Academy of Aerospace Liquid Propulsion Technology (AALPT). On launch missions where the first stage is recovered, it will land on a down-range landing pad located in Minqin County, Gansu Province.

Flights flown1
Success rate100%1/1
Payload to LEO20,000kg
Maiden flight2026-06-01
Peak year20261 flight

Long March 12B is built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation of China. It first flew on 1 June 2026.

Flight record

1 records
100% success rate1 of 1 flown
First flight2026-06-01
Latest flight2026-06-01
Failures0
Consecutive successes1

Payload

Per mission profile
Low Earth orbit20,000kg
Sun-synchronous orbit15,000kg

Vehicle

Stages2
Length72m
Diameter4.37m
Liftoff thrust7,940kN
Maiden flight2026-06-01
ReusableYes

Pads used

1 pad

Orbits delivered

1 orbit
Polar Orbit1

Launch history

1 launches
DateMissionPadOrbitOutcome
2026-06-01Long March 12B | Demo Flight (SpaceSail Polar Group #10)Long March 12 series PadPolar OrbitSuccess

Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.

Further reading: Wikipedia

Fewer than three recorded flights, so this page is marked noindex. It is here for completeness, not for search.