The Long March-7 carrier rocket is set on the launch tower at a launch base in the southern island of Hainan. (Photo: China News Service/Qin Xian'an)
Unlike its predecessors currently in service, the Long March-7, the newest member of the Long March rocket family, will be more environmentally friendly, says its developer.
Using kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel, rather than the highly toxic propellant, the rocket will produce less pollution, according to the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institutes of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The Long March-7 carrier rocket, scheduled to take its maiden flight sometime from June 25 to 29, will transport cargo vehicles for China's planned space station and is expected to become the main carrier for space launches.
As China's fourth space launch center, the Wenchang satellite launch center in southern Hainan Province, begins final preparations for the Long March-7 launch, the new rocket and its future role have come under scrutiny.
BIGGER PAYLOADS
Researchers took eight years to develop the rocket, which can carry up to 13.5 tonnes into low Earth orbit, comparable to other advanced rockets internationally. Other Chinese medium-lift rockets can currently carry just 8.6 tonnes.
The Long March-7 measures 53.1 meters in length. It has a 3.35-meter-diameter core stage and four 2.25-meter-diameter rocket boosters.
Although it weighs hundreds of tonnes, its shell is incredibly thin.
"The thinnest part could be as thin as an egg shell and measures only 0.8 millimeter," the developer says.
This reduces its weight, enabling it to increase its payload, which means more opportunities for space projects or better conditions for astronauts.
ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
Usually the weather is an important consideration in rocket launches in China. But wet air and rain are hard to avoid at Wenchang, so the Long March-7 is designed for the conditions.x The developer says it also has a device to overcome gale-force winds.
The Long March-7 is China's first digitally designed rocket, designed and manufactured with 3D technologies, putting China in the top tier of digital design capabilities.
NEW JOURNEY AHEAD
"The Long March-7 launch will be of great significance as it will usher in China's space lab mission," says Yang Baohua, deputy manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It will also meet the long-term demand for a new generation of manned rocket.
China plans to launch the Long March-5 later this year, according to the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institutes. The Long March-5 will be China's largest carrier rocket, designed to carry 25 tonnes into low Earth orbit. It is expected to carry lunar probe Chang'e-5, the core module for China's space station and the Mars probe.
The developer says that in the next 15 years, China will develop and launch a heavy lift rocket that will be nearly 10 meters in diameter, with five times the carrying capacity of current rockets, to enable future deep space exploration.
The capacities of carrier rockets define the limits of a country's space exploration. Experts believe that the new launch center in Wenchang provides a great opportunity to raise current carrying capacity.
Three of China's four space launch centers are located inland. Trains carry the rocket parts from the manufacturing site to the launch center, so the rocket's diameter can be no larger than the width or height of mountain rail tunnels.
Wenchang is the only launch center near the sea, so the rocket parts can be transported by ship, which sets greater limits on a rocket's size.
The Long March-5's diameter will reach 5 meters, and beyond that will be larger rockets.
