Martian2
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Russia failed. China will go it alone to Mars after 2014 with Long March V.
The launch vehicle for the Phobos-Grunt was a Russian Zenit-2SB. The Zenit-2SB can carry a 12 tonne payload to LEO/NEO (low earth orbit or near-earth orbit).
The Long March 5 engine has already passed its 200-second engine-burn test. We have already seen photographs of Long March 5 rocket segments being assembled. The Long March 5 rocket propellant tank is also ready.
The Long March 5 has twice the payload capacity (e.g. 25 tonnes) of the Russian Zenit-2SB. We only have to wait two short years before China possesses the indigenous capability to send another Chinese Yinghuo-1 orbiter to Mars.
References:
Phobos-Grunt: Fobos-Grunt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zenit-2SB: Zenit-2M - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long March 5 propellant tank and 25 tonne LEO capacity: China develops largest propellant tank for space vehicles - Economic Times
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Rocket to go to moon under design
The following impressive video is a successful 200-second rocket-engine burn of the forthcoming 2014 Long March V. Having completed this milestone, the talented rocket scientists have moved on to designing and building the final heavy-lift rocket engine that will carry Chinese taikonauts to the Moon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=836xtLHRhcs
Rocket to go to moon under design
"Rocket to go to moon under design
By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-05 07:26
BEIJING: A new heavy-thrust carrier rocket is under scientific research, with the goal of sending astronauts to the moon, scientists said.
A model of the Long March V rocket
Although there is no official timetable yet for China's moon landing, scientists are researching a new powerful carrier rocket with a lift-off thrust of 3,000 tons, Liang Xiaohong, vice-president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told China Daily on Thursday.
"The heavy-thrust launcher's lift-off thrust will be three times that of the Long March-5, China's current largest launcher," said Liang, who is also a member of the 11th CPPCC national committee.
The large-thrust Long March-5 launch vehicle has a lift-off thrust of 1,000 tons, which enables it to send a maximum payload of 25 tons to near-Earth orbit and a payload of 10 tons to the higher geo-stationary orbit. Designed for transporting heavyweight satellites and space stations, it is slated to take off in 2014, according to Liang.
Compared to the Long March-5, the heavy-thrust launcher will be more powerful, but its payload capacity is still under discussion, he said.
The Long March-5 is also likely to be used in the preparatory stage of a future moon landing, he added.
China is currently studying the feasibility of a moon landing, despite US President Barack Obama's decision to kill NASA's $100-billion plans to return astronauts to the moon.
Bao Weimin, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a CPPCC national committee member, said: "A moon landing program is very necessary, because it could drive the country's scientific and technological development."
Besides the heavy-thrust carrier rocket under study, the academy is also developing a new family of carrier rockets for future space programs.
"The Long March-6 will be a small-thrust carrier rocket, and the Long March-7 will be a medium-thrust launch vehicle. Together with the Long March-5, they will form a family that can cover all necessities for launch vehicles and replace the current carrier rockets," Liang said.
So far, the Long March-5 project has entered the testability analysis stage, he added.
About 100,000 square meters of workshops have been completed so far at a new base being built in the Binhai New Area of the northern coastal city of Tianjin. The facility will be used for testing and manufacturing the Long March-5. Construction began last year with an investment of 1.5 billion yuan ($220 million), Liang said.
Eventually, a total investment of 10 billion yuan will be poured into the base, which will be able to produce a maximum of 12 Long March-5 launch vehicles each year, he said.
Qi Faren, former chief designer of Shenzhou spaceships and a CPPCC national committee member, said on Thursday that the Long March-5 will be used to launch China's space station mission.
"We aim to send the core module of the space station into orbit before 2020. Without the large-thrust launcher, the 20-ton core module cannot be in place," he said.
Before that, however, the first task of the Long March 5 may be to send the Fengyun-4 weather satellite into space from the launch center under construction at Wenchang in Hainan, China's southern island province, according to Liang.
The new Fengyun-4 satellite, which is under design, weighs about eight to nine tons, which cannot be lifted by the current launchers that can carry a maximum payload of 5.2 tons to geo-stationary orbit, he added.
Hou Lei contributed to the story"
----------
Bonus:
If you have never seen the assembly of a Chinese rocket, look below and now you have seen "a Long March 5 prototype being assembled!"
A Long March 5 section is hoisted into place.
Technicians inspect a Long March 5 rocket segment.
A technician proceeds with Long March 5 assembly.
Different Long March 5 segments are being aligned.
[Note: Thank you to ChineseTiger1986 for the newslink. Thank you to HouShanghai for the Long March 4B launch photograph. Thank you to Qwerrty and ChineseTiger1986 for the Long March 5 assembly photographs.]
The launch vehicle for the Phobos-Grunt was a Russian Zenit-2SB. The Zenit-2SB can carry a 12 tonne payload to LEO/NEO (low earth orbit or near-earth orbit).
The Long March 5 engine has already passed its 200-second engine-burn test. We have already seen photographs of Long March 5 rocket segments being assembled. The Long March 5 rocket propellant tank is also ready.
The Long March 5 has twice the payload capacity (e.g. 25 tonnes) of the Russian Zenit-2SB. We only have to wait two short years before China possesses the indigenous capability to send another Chinese Yinghuo-1 orbiter to Mars.
References:
Phobos-Grunt: Fobos-Grunt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zenit-2SB: Zenit-2M - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long March 5 propellant tank and 25 tonne LEO capacity: China develops largest propellant tank for space vehicles - Economic Times
----------
Rocket to go to moon under design
The following impressive video is a successful 200-second rocket-engine burn of the forthcoming 2014 Long March V. Having completed this milestone, the talented rocket scientists have moved on to designing and building the final heavy-lift rocket engine that will carry Chinese taikonauts to the Moon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=836xtLHRhcs
Rocket to go to moon under design
"Rocket to go to moon under design
By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-05 07:26
BEIJING: A new heavy-thrust carrier rocket is under scientific research, with the goal of sending astronauts to the moon, scientists said.
A model of the Long March V rocket
Although there is no official timetable yet for China's moon landing, scientists are researching a new powerful carrier rocket with a lift-off thrust of 3,000 tons, Liang Xiaohong, vice-president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told China Daily on Thursday.
"The heavy-thrust launcher's lift-off thrust will be three times that of the Long March-5, China's current largest launcher," said Liang, who is also a member of the 11th CPPCC national committee.
The large-thrust Long March-5 launch vehicle has a lift-off thrust of 1,000 tons, which enables it to send a maximum payload of 25 tons to near-Earth orbit and a payload of 10 tons to the higher geo-stationary orbit. Designed for transporting heavyweight satellites and space stations, it is slated to take off in 2014, according to Liang.
Compared to the Long March-5, the heavy-thrust launcher will be more powerful, but its payload capacity is still under discussion, he said.
The Long March-5 is also likely to be used in the preparatory stage of a future moon landing, he added.
China is currently studying the feasibility of a moon landing, despite US President Barack Obama's decision to kill NASA's $100-billion plans to return astronauts to the moon.
Bao Weimin, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a CPPCC national committee member, said: "A moon landing program is very necessary, because it could drive the country's scientific and technological development."
Besides the heavy-thrust carrier rocket under study, the academy is also developing a new family of carrier rockets for future space programs.
"The Long March-6 will be a small-thrust carrier rocket, and the Long March-7 will be a medium-thrust launch vehicle. Together with the Long March-5, they will form a family that can cover all necessities for launch vehicles and replace the current carrier rockets," Liang said.
So far, the Long March-5 project has entered the testability analysis stage, he added.
About 100,000 square meters of workshops have been completed so far at a new base being built in the Binhai New Area of the northern coastal city of Tianjin. The facility will be used for testing and manufacturing the Long March-5. Construction began last year with an investment of 1.5 billion yuan ($220 million), Liang said.
Eventually, a total investment of 10 billion yuan will be poured into the base, which will be able to produce a maximum of 12 Long March-5 launch vehicles each year, he said.
Qi Faren, former chief designer of Shenzhou spaceships and a CPPCC national committee member, said on Thursday that the Long March-5 will be used to launch China's space station mission.
"We aim to send the core module of the space station into orbit before 2020. Without the large-thrust launcher, the 20-ton core module cannot be in place," he said.
Before that, however, the first task of the Long March 5 may be to send the Fengyun-4 weather satellite into space from the launch center under construction at Wenchang in Hainan, China's southern island province, according to Liang.
The new Fengyun-4 satellite, which is under design, weighs about eight to nine tons, which cannot be lifted by the current launchers that can carry a maximum payload of 5.2 tons to geo-stationary orbit, he added.
Hou Lei contributed to the story"
----------
Bonus:
If you have never seen the assembly of a Chinese rocket, look below and now you have seen "a Long March 5 prototype being assembled!"
A Long March 5 section is hoisted into place.
Technicians inspect a Long March 5 rocket segment.
A technician proceeds with Long March 5 assembly.
Different Long March 5 segments are being aligned.
[Note: Thank you to ChineseTiger1986 for the newslink. Thank you to HouShanghai for the Long March 4B launch photograph. Thank you to Qwerrty and ChineseTiger1986 for the Long March 5 assembly photographs.]
