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Long March-8A takes off for its maiden flight from Wenchang Space Launch Site in Southern China's Hainan Province at 5:30 pm on February 11, 2025. Photo: VCG

China's new launch vehicle Long March-8A took off for its maiden flight from Wenchang Space Launch Site in Southern China's Hainan Province at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, successfully sending the 02 group of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for a satellite internet constellation to their preset orbits.

The successful debut of the Long March-8A model marked the addition of a new member to China's next-generation launch vehicle family and the establishment of a comprehensive Long March 8 rocket series, according to the rocket developer the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) on Tuesday.

The Long March-8A rocket is an enhanced version of the Long March-8, specifically developed to meet the launch requirements of large-scale constellation networks in medium- and low-Earth orbits, Song Zhengyu, chief designer of the Long March-8A rocket, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The Long March-8A rocket is capable of sending payload of 7 tons to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), which can meet the launch demands for future mainstream orbital missions, the chief designer said. 

Compared to the Long March-8 rocket, the Long March-8A rocket features several key improvements, including greater payload capacity, a larger fairing size, and enhanced reliability, the CALT said in a press release it provided to the Global Times on Sunday.

The existing 3-meter-diameter hydrogen-oxygen upper stage has been upgraded to a 3.35-meter-diameter version, while engine performance has also been improved. A series of key technological breakthroughs have been achieved in areas such as the pressurized delivery system, structural system, engine, and electrical systems, according to the CALT.

The new model retains the first stage core and boosters of the Long March 8, while the second stage is a newly developed 3.35-meter-diameter universal hydrogen-oxygen upper stage. It can be equipped with fairings of either 5.2 meters or 4.2 meters in diameter, with the 5.2-meter fairing used for the first launch, Song revealed. 

The Long March-8A rocket is the first model to use a 3.35-meter-diameter upper stage paired with a 5.2-meter-diameter fairing configuration. Visually, it has a "larger head," providing more space for satellites and accommodating a wider variety of larger satellites, thereby offering greater mission adaptability, the CALT said.

The CALT also disclosed that the Long March 8A rocket has also innovatively integrated the functions of the satellite bracket, adapter frame, and instrument cabin into a single multifunctional compartment, successfully reducing the weight by 200 kilograms and improving the rocket's payload efficiency. This integrated design approach for the rocket's structure also marks a first in China.

Along with the basic Long March-8 model and the booster-free tandem configuration, it forms the Long March 8 series of rockets, providing a payload capacity range of 3 tons, 5 tons, and 7 tons to SSO. This significantly enhances China's satellite networking capabilities for low and medium Earth orbits, Song explained.

Such establishment of Long March-8 series could provide cost-effective services that match user needs, significantly enhancing China's low Earth orbit satellite constellation launch capabilities for satellite internet, said Fan Chenxiao, a member of the rocket development team.

Global Times also learned from the CALT that the inaugural flight of the Long March-8A rocket also marks the beginning of high-frequency launches for the Long March-8 series. In 2025, the Long March-8 series is scheduled to carry out more than 10 launch missions, with the Long March-8A rocket set to execute 5 to 6 of those missions, the academy disclosed.

Currently, the Chang-8 series rockets have two assembly bases in Tianjin and Hainan, capable of carrying out rapid assembly, with an annual production capacity of no less than 50 launches, meeting the demand for subsequent high-frequency launches, Fan told the Global Times.

The Long March-8 rocket family can execute orbital launch missions at both Wenchang Space Launch Site and Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site and the latter site could support the series' high-frequency capability, enabling 7-day testing and launch and 7-day recovery turnaround and meeting the demand for subsequent high density launches and providing more competitive commercial launch services, Fan said.