China space agency completed a vital test launch when the first launch of its heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket went off without a hitch.
Long March-5B is a 176-foot-long rocket. It has been designed to shuttle astronauts to low-Earth orbit or even around the moon.
The new-generation spacecraft was developed for the operation of China’s space station and manned space exploration.
The spacecraft will be reusable.
The Chinese rocket is powered by a pair of hydrogen-fueled YF-77 core stage engines and 8 kerosene-fueled booster engines. It can haul up a 55,000 pound payload into orbit with almost 2.4 million pounds of thrust.
Long March-5B rocket hoisted a massive, 67-foot-long prototype capsule designed to carry a crew of six into space.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has developed two prototype space stations namely Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. It orbits the Earth from 2011 to 2018 and from 2016 t0 2019, respectively. Chinese astronauts visited Tiangong-1 during missions in the year 2012, 2013, and Tiangong-2 in 2017.
