By Yuan Can (People’s Daily Online) 16:45, November 24, 2015
China’s largest and most powerful new rocket the Long March 5 is shown to public on Nov.23, 2015 at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in south China’s Hainan province. (Photo/Aihangtian.com)
The launching crew training rocket called the Long March 5, China’s largest and most powerful rocket, is moved to a launching tower at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in south China’s Hainan province on Nov.23.
This is the first time that the Long March 5 has been completely shown in public. The rocket is made up of four large boosters and a core unit, according to Liu Tongjie, deputy head of lunar exploration and space programs at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, which oversees China’s space activities.
Long March 5 is China’s advanced heavy lift spacecraft, almost 57 meters (187 feet) in height and 5 meters (16.4 feet) in diameter. The maximum payload capacity of the system is about 25 metric tons in Earth’s low orbit and 14 tons in geosynchronous orbit. Such capacity is equal to that of the Delta IV and Atlas V, which are Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles from the United States.
To propel the engines China’s rocket will utilize either liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, or liquid oxygen plus kerosene. With this the developers said that the system will be more favorable for the environment than previous rockets
Long March 5 is designed to perform numerous space explorations, including the launching of big lunar probes and the orbital placement of a space station that will house astronauts around the year 2020.
Long March 5 plans to make the first launch before the end of next year, Liu said. China also plans to launch the Chang’e-V lunar probe in 2017.