Overview
- The 70.4-meter, methane-fueled launcher lifted off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 22 from Jiuquan’s Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Zone.
- State media reported the second stage entered its planned orbit after separation.
- The first stage attempted a downrange landing near Minqin County in Gansu but was not recovered.
- The test was China’s second unsuccessful orbital-class booster recovery attempt in December, following LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 on Dec. 3.
- Chinese state and commercial teams aim to cut launch costs for planned internet constellations, with follow-on tests and new architectures such as the Long March 10 series targeted for 2026.