On June 1, 2026, the Chinese CZ-12B rocket made its successful maiden flight from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Zone near the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.The two-stage, kerosene-fueled rocket lifted off at 08:40 UTC, carrying two Qianfan (SpaceSail) constellation satellites into their intended orbit.The CZ-12B, weighing 670 tons at launch, stands 72 meters tall with a 4.37-meter diameter and a 5.2-meter payload fairing, making it the widest SAST rocket to date.

Its first stage featured a deployable landing system and aerobrakes but was not recovered due to the southern launch azimuth required for polar orbit insertion.

The rocket uses nine YF-102R engines on the first stage and a YF-102RV vacuum engine on the second, offering performance comparable to SpaceX's Falcon 9.

The CZ-12B is part of the CZ-12 family, which also includes the CZ-12 and CZ-12A, and is designed to carry up to 20 tons to low Earth orbit and 12–15 tons to sun-synchronous orbit.SAST aims to refine its own launch vehicles while competing with CALT and private Chinese space companies.This launch marks a significant step in China's growing capabilities in commercial satellite deployment and reusable rocket technology.