#cz5

[for-all-mankind]

Long March 5 makes its inaugural flight, November 3, 2016.

[for-all-mankind]

China enters global space market with inaugural launch of Long March 5.

Marking the fourth new Chinese launcher to be flown within the last 14 months, a Long March 5 rocket lifted off on its inaugural mission November 3.  The heavy-lift booster gives China the crucial ability to launch heavy payloads into a variety of Earth orbits. Beginning as early as 2017, the rocket will be called upon to launch the Chang’e 5 Lunar sample return mission, the core module of China’s large Tianhe space station, and various heavy geostationary satellites.  Long March 5 joins Europe’s Ariane 5 and the United States’ Delta IV Heavy as one of the most powerful rockets in the world.

Sporting four strap on boosters, Long March 5 stands 187 feet high and has three stages. These work together to bring up to 53,000 pounds into Low Earth Orbit. Long March 5 launched at 8:43pm local time (8:43am EDT) from LC-101 at the Wenchang Space Center on Hainan Island. Wenchang was built especially for the new rocket since the booster is larger than what China’s railway infrastructure could accommodate. Payload for the inaugural flight was the Shijian-17 satellite, which tested out electric propulsion systems for future Chinese missions. The satellite can be seen in the gif above as the payload fairing protecting it during launch is jettisoned.

[for-all-mankind]

China poised to launch new era of spaceflight with Long March 5.

Just weeks after the successful launch and docking of the Shenzhou-11 manned mission, China is ready to take their next giant leap in spaceflight next week with the debut launch of the Long March 5 rocket. Larger than any vehicle China has built before, Long March 5 is a heavy-lift rocket capable of bringing more than 53,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. By comparison, this is roughly as powerful as Europe’s Ariane 5 and America’s Delta IV Heavy.  Until now, China has been lacking heavy-lift capability, which is crucial to launching large payloads such as space station modules and lunar hardware - both stated goals of the Chinese space program. Long March 5 was rolled from the assembly building at the country’s new island spaceport of Wenchang in the South China Sea Friday morning, October 28. Reports are indicating launch is scheduled for sometime on November 3rd. The rocket is the third in a series of vehicles the Chinese are developing to improve and modernize their launch vehicle fleet, which was developed in the latter half of the 20th century. The small-lift Long March 4 make its inaugural launch in November, 2015, while the medium-class Long March 7 first flew in June of 2016.