China's reusable rocket Long March-12B completes firing test

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's reusable rocket Long March-12B completed a successful static firing test on Friday afternoon, marking a major step ahead of its upcoming flight missions, according to its developer.

The firing test took place at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.

Developed by a commercial rocket manufacturing company under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Long March-12B is a new-generation reusable rocket designed to support the deployment of commercial low-Earth orbit satellite constellations. It boasts a payload capacity of 20 tonnes to near-Earth orbit.

The test fully demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of the rocket design, providing support for the subsequent flight tests, the company said. ■