The Long March-12 carrier rocket takes off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in South China's Hainan Province at 18:21 on August 4, 2025. It successfully placed the payloads, the seventh group of low-orbit internet satellites developed by GALAXYSPACE, into preset orbit. Photo: VCG

China's Long March-10 carrier rocket, the country's new-generation manned launch vehicle, has successfully completed the first static fire test on Friday at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has announced.

This marks another important milestone in the country's manned lunar exploration program, following the successful zero-altitude escape test of the manned spacecraft Mengzhou and the comprehensive verification test of the Lanyue lunar lander's landing and ascent capabilities.

At 15:00 on Friday, upon the ignition command from the test command center, seven engines on the first-stage test unit of the Long March-10 series rocket ignited simultaneously. The engines completed multiple test procedures as planned, verifying their ability to operate together under both nominal and high-power conditions. Full test data was collected, and the test concluded successfully, according to a release from the CMSA.

This was China's largest full-system engine test to date, delivering nearly 1,000 tonnes of thrust, according to the release.

The Long March-10 series is a new-generation manned launch vehicle designed for China's manned lunar exploration program, available in two configurations: Long March-10 and Long March-10A.The Long March-10 is a three-stage rocket with two strap-on boosters, measuring 5 meters in diameter and up to 92.5 meters in height. It will be tasked with launching the Mengzhou manned spacecraft and the Lanyue lunar lander for lunar missions.

The Long March-10A is a two-stage reusable variant, also 5 meters in diameter and up to 67 meters tall, featuring a recoverable and reusable first stage. It will support the China Space Station's application and development phase by launching Mengzhou manned spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo spacecraft.

The success of this test lays an important technical foundation for the manned lunar mission. Going forward, the Long March-10 series will be fully deployed in China's manned space program, working together with the Mengzhou manned spacecraft to realize a new-generation two-way crew transportation system between Earth and space, according to the release.

Global Times