Long March 12A

The targeted completion date for the Long March 12A’s launch pad was mid-October 2025.

The Long March 12A’s launch pad features two lightning diversion towers, propellant tanks, and plumbing for loading vehicles with liquid methane and liquid oxygen.

The Shanghai Academy operates both Long March 12 and Long March 12A vehicles under its three-rocket Long March 12 series.

The Long March 12A’s launch pad includes a mount for a rockets transporter-erector above its flame diversion trench.

It is unknown if the Long March 12A Y1 vehicle will conduct a static fire before flight, as details about its development have been opaque.

On December 2nd, China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group Co Ltd announced that the Long March 12A’s launch pad had completed acceptance testing.

A landing pad has been completed in Minqin County, Gansu Province, relevant to the Long March 12A launch pad.

Conducting a static fire for the Long March 12A would validate that all systems of the rocket and launch pad can work in parallel, reducing potential risk.

The Long March 12A aims to achieve China’s first booster landing.

LandSpace also has a landing pad in the Gansu Province, approximately 300 kilometers from the Long March 12A launch pad.

Work on the Long March 12A’s launch pad began with a meeting that took place in May 2025.

The Long March 12A Y1 vehicle is currently on the launch pad, preparing for its debut flight.

The construction of the Long March 12A’s launch pad was completed six weeks behind schedule, and it is now hosting a rocket.

The Long March 12A launch vehicle from the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology is preparing for its debut flight in the coming weeks.

The Long March 12A is a partially reusable liquid methane and liquid oxygen-fueled rocket.

The transporter-erector for the Long March 12A was tested in November and has a similar design to that used with the Long March 12 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site.

The Long March 12A is expected to launch from Jiuquan.

The Long March 12A launch is possibly scheduled for the first half of December.