China's Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site to See Maiden Flights of Two Rockets

TapTechNews, June 9th. According to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Long March-8 Modified and the Long March-12 rockets, developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Limited, will have their maiden flights at two launch pads of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site this year.

TapTechNews learned that the second launch pad of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site was announced to be completed on June 6 this year. Combined with the first launch pad completed at the end of last year, the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site has completed the construction of 2 launch pads and initially has the ability to perform rocket launch missions.

It is introduced that the second launch pad of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site started construction on October 30, 2022. It is the first medium-sized liquid rocket launch pad in China that adopts the 'three-horizontal' test-launch mode of horizontal assembly, testing and transfer. With a maximum envelope of 5 meters in the diameter of the rocket core stage, it can meet the launch requirements of more than 10 types of rockets such as the Long March, Kuai Zhou and Jie Long.

At present, the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site will enter the stage of the full-system joint drill of the first rockets of the Long-8 Modified and the Long-12 rockets according to the annual launch plan. The full-system joint drill is an important link before the rocket launch and also a major assessment of the whole system and whole state before the maiden flight of the Hainan Commercial Launch Site.

In addition, at the completion ceremony of the second launch pad of the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site, the intelligent launch site system was also disclosed for the first time. This system is the 'intelligent brain' and 'information hub' of the launch site, gathering all key information resources of the launch site. The intelligent launch site system project is undertaken by the First Institute of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, and adopts the integrated test-launch command information fusion technology, which will fully support the flight tests of the existing first pad, the second pad and the future third pad and fourth pad.

The Long-8 Modified rocket is in charge of the research and development by the First Institute of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group. Its carrying capacity at a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit reaches 7 metric tons, and it is planned to carry out the first flight mission at the first pad.

The Long-12 rocket is in charge of the research and development by the Eighth Institute of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group. It has a carrying capacity of no less than 10 metric tons in the low-earth orbit and no less than 6 metric tons in the 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, and it is planned to perform the first flight mission at the second launch pad.