China's Long March 12A Reaches Orbit on Debut, But Reusable Booster Fails Landing

It was a spectacular success, followed by a supersonic failure. China's new Long March 12A rocket, designed for reuse to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9, successfully soared into low-Earth orbit on its first flight. The mission's critical second act, however, didn't stick the landing, with the first-stage booster crashing back to Earth.

A Tale of Two Outcomes

The rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 9:00 pm EST on Monday (02:00 UTC Tuesday), according to official reports. The vehicle is roughly the same height and diameter as SpaceX's workhorse, the Falcon 9.

Less than 10 minutes later, the methane-fueled first stage booster came hurtling back through the atmosphere. It failed to complete a critical braking burn needed to slow down for a controlled landing near the Gobi Desert. Instead, it impacted a remote region about 200 miles downrange.

Accelerating the Space Race

This was the second time this month that a Chinese rocket designed for reuse has made its debut flight. While the booster recovery failed, simply reaching orbit is a significant achievement, defying the questionable odds that often burden new launch vehicles. The event underscores the aggressive pace of China's reusable rocket development program.