A Long March-12 rocket launched last week used a new high-energy synthetic kerosene that increased payload capacity by 10 percent.
The Beijing Aerospace Test Technology Research Institute, part of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, developed the fuel to raise energy density without building larger rocket bodies.
Conventional liquid oxygen-kerosene engines had reached performance limits with traditional petroleum-based mixtures. The new fuel raised specific impulse by about eight seconds, according to CASC statements last week.
The institute focused on synthetic kerosene to improve efficiency for Long March rockets.
