China Launches Guowang Satellites and UAE's SEO Satellite Amid Recent Rocket Failure
China's Long March 12 rocket successfully launched a batch of Guowang megaconstellation satellites and the UAE's SEO satellite, despite a recent failure of a Long March 7A rocket.
China has launched a new batch of Guowang megaconstellation satellites and the UAE's SEO satellite, marking a successful return to flight for the Long March 12 rocket.
The launch of the Long March 12 came just a week after the failure of a Long March 7A rocket, which was attributed to an anomaly not related to the YF-100 engine family. This suggests that the issue was not engine-related and may have had a substantial effect on China's major space programs.
The Long March 12 rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch center in southern China at 12:10 a.m. Eastern on August 16. The launch was operated by the China Commercial Rocket, which uses the acronym CACL. The payload consisted of a new batch of satellites for the Guowang constellation, built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
The Guowang program aims to launch around 13,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. The launch of the Long March 12 was the seventh launch of the standard, expendable rocket. CASC also operates the potentially reusable methane-liquid oxygen Long March 12A and kerosene-liquid oxygen Long March 12B launchers.
The successful launch of the Long March 12 suggests that the anomaly that caused the Long March 7A failure was not engine-related. This may have implications for China's plans and scheduling for geosynchronous and related launches.
China followed the Guowang mission with a launch for the United Arab Emirates later on the same day. A Long March 2C hypergolic rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China at 11:02 p.m. Eastern on August 16. The launch carried the "Satellite for Earth Observation" (SEO) for the UAE into orbit.
The SEO mission aims to develop advanced space technologies and represents an ambitious step toward utilizing space technologies to support sustainability and future development. The mission seeks to provide data and insights that contribute to environmental protection, natural resource management, and enhanced planning and decision-making efficiency.
The satellite is a project of the UAE University's National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), developed with the UAE Space Agency and Chinese partners.
## Launch Details
| Mission | Launch Vehicle | Launch Site | Launch Date | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Guowang | Long March 12 | Hainan commercial space launch center | August 16 | | SEO | Long March 2C | Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center | August 16 |
## China's Launch Plans
China is targeting over 100 launches this year, with the Zhuque-3 rocket expected to make a launch and recovery attempt in the coming days. The Galactic Energy's Pallas-1 rocket could also debut from Jiuquan's commercial innovation launch zone in the near future.
