A modified version of China's Long March 8 carrier rocket is scheduled to make its debut flight in the coming weeks to transport 22 satellites into orbit, a designer said.

Chen Xiaofei, from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, said on Wednesday that if the launch mission succeeds, it will set a record for the most spacecraft launched by a single Chinese rocket.

Currently, the domestic record for the most satellites launched by a single rocket is held by the first flight of the Long March 6 model in September 2015, which deployed 20 satellites. The world record is held by SpaceX's Falcon 9, which lifted 143 satellites in January last year.

"The difference between the modified variant and the original Long March 8 is that the new model doesn't have side boosters," Chen said, noting that all of the 22 satellites to be launched are for commercial use.

Like the original model, the variant is 50.3 meters long. It will be propelled by four engines－two on the first stage and two on the second－and will have a liftoff weight of 198 metric tons, Chen said.

Long March 8's original model performed its debut mission in December 2020 from a coastal launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province.