New Heavy Rocket Launch Advances China’s Space Program

China’s state media said that the country has launched its new Long March-5 heavy rocket sending its cargo into orbit. It is the country’s latest move in progressing its space exploration program.

The launch comes following China’s commencement of its longest manned space mission last month, transporting two astronauts to spend a month on board a space laboratory. The manned space mission is a part of a general plan to have a permanent manned space station by 2022.

The rocket is bigger than the earlier versions of the Long-March carrier rockets. State news agency Xinhua said it lifted off on Thursday night from a launch pad in the southern province of Hianan. The launch was aimed at verifying the rockets performance and design.

“Its successful launch has propelled China to the forefront of the world in terms of rocket carrying capacity, and marks a milestone in China’s transition from a major player in space to a major power in space,” Xinhua mentioned the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee and powerful Central Military Commission as stating in a letter.

The two-stage rocket’s capability to put 25 tonnes of cargo into low-Earth orbit and 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit renders its carrying capacity 2.5 times larger than previous models, Xinhua said.

The news agency said that the heavy-lift carrier rocket provides China the ability to build a permanent manned space station and explore the moon and Mars.

Developing China’s space program, which China insists is for peaceful purposes, is a priority for Beijing.

The U.S. Defense Department has underlined China’s improving space capabilities. It said that China was engaging on activities meant at keeping other nations from using space-based assets in a crisis.

Despite its advancements for commercial, scientific and military purposes, China’s space program is still behind Russia and the United States.

In late 2013, China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon to great fanfare. However, it developed severe technical problems soon after.

The moon rover and the Chan’e 3 probe that transported it there were first landing on the moon since 1976. Both Russia and the United States had accomplished the feat earlier.

US firms such as Blue Origin and SpaceX are currently developing space flight capabilities. Both companies are developing reusable rockets. SpaceX has gone as far as disclosing their ambitious plan of a manned mission to Mars as soon as 2024.

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