China's Long March 12A Launches, Booster Recovery Fails

China's Long March 12A, the nation's first state-owned reusable rocket, launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on Tuesday morning local time, but the attempt to recover its first-stage booster ended in failure. The mission, which lifted off at 10 a.m., marked the second unsuccessful recovery effort for an orbital-class Chinese rocket this month.

The two-stage vehicle, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, reached its predetermined low-Earth orbit with the upper stage, deploying its payload as planned. State news agency Xinhua reported that the rocket, measuring about 62 meters tall and fueled by liquid methane and oxygen, can carry up to 12 metric tons to orbit. However, the first stage, designed for vertical landing, impacted the ground approximately 250 kilometers downrange in a remote area near the Gobi Desert after failing to complete a necessary braking burn. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation confirmed the recovery did not succeed and stated that the team is analyzing the flight data to identify the cause.