China made the first launch of the new Long March 12 rocket. The rocket carried two experimental satellites into space, for which nothing is yet known it is known. But the rocket is interesting in itself. It was lifted into space by new engines, which in the future promise to be part of a rocket that will carry Chinese people to the moon. The success of the mission was the first step on this path.
According to available information, the Long March 12 rocket uses four new YF-100K engines using a fuel mixture of oxygen and kerosene. According to one version of the Chinese lunar program, the Long March 10 lunar rocket will use 21 such engines: seven in a pair of side boosters and seven in the first stage.
Meanwhile, China announced the launch of the fattest missile in its arsenal. The diameter of the Long March 12 is 3.85 m, while most Chinese space rockets are 3.35 m in diameter. Thanks to the increased volume of the body, the new rocket holds 30% more fuel in the enlarged tanks. This will allow more payloads to be lifted into orbit. In particular, the Long March 12 medium-capacity rocket can lift 10 to 12 tons of payload into low Earth orbit and up to 6 tons into sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km.