The Long March 12B is China’s most capable single-core rocket.

Qianfan deployment plans call for 324 satellites in 2026, another 324 in 2027, 4,000 in 2028 and 2029, and 5,000 in 2030.

Each Qianfan satellite is believed to weigh 300 kilograms and use a flat-pack design with a single solar array.

The Long March 12B stands 72 meters tall and has a 4.37-meter diameter across both stages.

Each Qianfan satellite uses an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton to generate 20 millinewtons of thrust and a specific impulse of 1,385 seconds.

The Long March 12B can operate from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and the Wenchang Space Launch Site.

The Long March 12B first-stage booster has mockup landing legs and real grid fins.

No booster recovery trials were performed on the Long March 12B’s debut flight.

Qianfan is intended to provide space-based internet connectivity in China and abroad, including Brazil, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and via airlines.

Qianfan has approval to operate 15,000 total satellites.

The Long March 12B has a 5.2-meter-diameter fairing split into two halves.

The June 1 flight was the first launch of the partially reusable Long March 12B.

The CZ-12B is a reusable Long March rocket.

The CZ-12B completed its debut lift-off.

The SNAP-19 RTGs provided about 50 watts of power.

SNAP-19 was designed to contain radioactive material during an accident.

On May 18, 1968, a Thorad-Agena rocket carrying the Nimbus B-1 Earth observation satellite lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The GM Automatic Ship Positioning System could continuously monitor the position of the Deep Ocean Work Boat relative to the support ship.

Sandia had planned a 1968 test search on a practice object near Santa Cruz Island before the Nimbus payload loss created a real target.

At Mound Laboratories, the plutonium fuel from the RTGs was extracted and reused.

NASA later used SNAP power sources on several Apollo surface missions.

Sandia had been developing a capability to search for and recover nuclear materials at sea.

Representatives of NASA, the Atomic Energy Commission, and Sandia positively identified the SNAP-19 generator on September 27, 1968.

No radiation leakage was detected during the entire Nimbus B-1 recovery operation.

The Nimbus search mission was terminated on the evening of September 29, 1968.

The United States eventually adopted a policy of no longer placing SNAP power sources in Earth orbit.

The oil supply boat Sea Tender supported the second search operation with side-looking sonar, an underwater television system, and OSI diving equipment.

Two SNAP-19 radioisotope thermoelectric generators with plutonium fuel fell into the water north of San Miguel Island after the Nimbus B-1 launch accident.

The RTGs were recovered on the afternoon of October 9 using the Deep Ocean Work Boat and hard hat divers.

The Thorad-Agena rocket carrying Nimbus B-1 strayed off course within two minutes of launch and was destroyed by the flight safety officer over the Santa Barbara Channel.

Sandia's support ship Swan could support a deep sea submersible.

Ocean Systems, Inc. planned a second search operation for the Navy after the first search failed to locate the debris.

Nova Scotia Power will supply electricity to the Spaceport Nova Scotia Utility Hub from Canso.

Maritime Launch Services expects the site entrance facility design package to be tendered in late June.

Maritime Launch Services subleases part of the Spaceport Nova Scotia site to the Department of National Defence under a $200 million agreement for a dedicated launch pad.

Bell Canada will supply high-speed fibre Internet service to the Spaceport Nova Scotia Utility Hub from Canso.

Lindsay Construction completed the design for the Spaceport Nova Scotia Utility Hub and is preparing it for tender next week.

Maritime Launch Services expects Nova Construction to complete the road work to the four launch pads by the end of September.

Maritime Launch Services repaid the $5.03 million it owed on its EDC facility.

Nova Construction restarted civil construction at Spaceport Nova Scotia in March.

Isar will be one of the tenants at Spaceport Nova Scotia.

Maritime Launch Services says the DND pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia is already fully active for DND requirements.

Maritime Launch Services plans to begin construction tendering for the first launch vehicle integration facility before the end of August.

Maritime Launch Services expects to start construction on the Utility Hub in the summer and have power to it by late fall.

The Spaceport Nova Scotia Utility Hub will house backup power, basic water services, and other utilities.

Maritime Launch Services plans to extend the road network down to four launch pads in the next phase of civil work starting in August.

The Utility Hub at Spaceport Nova Scotia will split offsite utilities to four launch pads.

Maritime Launch Services plans to complete the first phase of civil work at Spaceport Nova Scotia next week.

Isar will help finish its own launch pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia and provide feedback for integration facilities and the Launch Control Center.

The DND pad at Spaceport Nova Scotia was used in the recent T-Minus Engineering suborbital launch.