Long March 12A reaches orbit but reusable first-stage recovery fails, missing capture by ~2 km

On the night of Dec. 22–23, 2025, China launched the Long March 12A Y1; its second stage reached the planned orbit, but an attempted recovery of the reusable first stage failed, reportedly missing the downrange capture zone by about 2 km during the test.

Discovered 2025-12-22T18:55:21.512986-08:00 | 2025-12-22T18:55:21.512986-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The Long March 12A mission achieved orbital insertion on Dec. 22–23, 2025, yet the reusable first-stage recovery failed — reportedly missing the recovery zone by ~2 km — undercutting a key demonstration for China's reusable booster efforts.
  • The setback increases pressure on China’s launch sector as state and commercial developers race to match U.S. reusable capability; it comes against a backdrop of rapid industrial scaling and more frequent static-fire testing in China’s launch industry (

Reported By

Space Daily satnews prototypingchina.com numerama.com moderndiplomacy.eu News.CN
Sources Tracked
8
First Seen
2025-12-22T18:55:21.512986-08:00
Latest Update
2025-12-25T20:32:11.817677-08:00
Coverage
Space

Sources

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