China’s new long-launch vehicle Long March-5B made its maiden flight on Tuesday and sent the trial version of the country’s new-generation manned spaceship and a cargo return capsule to space, official media reported. The white large rocket fired from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of the South China island province of Hainan at 6:00 PM. (Beijing Time), reports state-run news agency Xinhua, citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
About 488 seconds later, the unmanned experimental manned spacecraft, along with the test version of the charge return capsule, separated with the missile and entered the planned orbit. The successful flight marks the “third step” of China’s manned space program, which is building a space station, CMSA said.
Long March-5B, specially developed for China’s manned space program, will be used primarily to launch the space station’s modules, he said. The Long March-5 integrates high-quality space technologies, including non-toxic eco-friendly fuel and a very stable control system, the state-run Global Times reported. “After the launch of the Long March-5, China will launch a series of 20-ton missiles, including the Long March-5, 6 and 7,” Wang Xiaojun, commander in chief of Long March-7, told the Daily. The rocket will help bring the nuclear module and experiment modules to the Chinese space station.
China started the manned space program in 1992. Designed as the country’s strongest launch vehicle, the Long March-5 has a payload of 25 tons in a low Earth orbit or 14 tons in a geostationary transfer orbit, an earlier report from Xinhua said. #.
