[ad_1]
File photo: 13 satellites are launched from a Long March-6 carrier rocket in Shanxi on 6 November. (Photo by Zheng Taotao / provided at chinadaily.com.cn)
The China National Space Administration has revealed the design specifications of the Long March 9, a super heavy rocket that is likely to become one of the largest and most powerful launch vehicles in the world.
Xu Hongliang, general secretary of the administration, said Tuesday afternoon in Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, that the long March 9 is in the research and development phase and should enter service around 2030.
The super heavy rocket will be 93 meters tall, have a takeoff weight of 4,140 tons and a thrust power of 5,760 tons. Its main stage will be about 10 meters in diameter, Xu said on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the Wenchang International Aviation and Aerospace Forum.
The aircraft will be so powerful that it will be able to carry spacecraft weighing 140 tons in a low Earth orbit hundreds of kilometers above the planet, he said.
Li Benqi, deputy head of the planning department at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, said at the opening ceremony that the rocket will also be able to place spacecraft up to 50 tons in an Earth-Moon transfer trajectory for lunar expeditions.
He added that the center will build a new launch platform and new test and support facilities for the long March 9.
Engineers from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country’s leading space contractor, have begun conducting tests on the 500-ton liquid oxygen / kerosene engine, which is expected to become the nation’s most powerful rocket engine, the company said.
Once the Long March 9 goes into operation, its carrying capacity will be more than five times that of the Long March 5, currently the most powerful and highest in the Chinese rocket family.
The 20-story tall Long March 5 has a take-off weight of 869 tons and a maximum payload capacity of 25 tons in low Earth orbit. A long March 5 was launched early Tuesday morning to send China’s largest lunar probe – Chang’e 5 moon to the moon.
The long March 9 will be crucial to realizing the nation’s ambitious plans for manned missions to the moon and sending large robotic spacecraft into deep space.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp has estimated that approximately 10 Long March 9 will be needed each year from 2030 to 2035 in China to meet the nation’s strong demand for heavy missiles.
More than 300 officials, scientists, engineers, business representatives and delegates from overseas space organizations took part in the two-day forum, the first of its kind in Hainan.
The island province in southern China is determined to develop local space-related industries as a new engine for its economy, local officials said.
[ad_2]
Source link
