Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
- Messages
- 28,401
- Reaction score
- -82
- Country
- Location
https://gbtimes.com/chinese-long-march-5-heavy-lift-launcher-ready-for-january-2019-comeback-flight
China's largest rocket is undergoing final assembly at a facility in Tianjin ahead of its shipping to a coastal launch site for what will be a crucial mission for the country's space ambitions.
Footage aired on China Central Television (CCTV) on October 6 showed components of the Long March 5 at the factory under the attention of engineers.
The two-stage, 5-metre-diameter, 57-metre-tall Long March 5 launch vehicle is by far the largest and most capable in terms of payload capacity that China has developed.
This third Long March 5 rocket is being readied to launch a near-8-metric-tonne experimental communications satellite named Shijian-20 to geostationary transfer orbit sometime in January 2019.
After a successful maiden flight in November 2016, the second failed to reach orbit in July 2017, severely disrupting China's space plans.
The failure delayed a number of major missions, including the Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission which was scheduled for November 2017.
A variant named the Long March 5B had also been expected to have a test flight ahead of lofting the first 20-tonne module of the Chinese Space Station (CSS) into low Earth orbit.
January return to flight
The cause was determined to be damage to the turbopump on one of the two cryogenic YF-77 first stage engines, prompting a redesign of the structure and test-firing in Xi'an.
Success of the upcoming launch will be crucial to progress on China's lunar, space station and interplanetary exploration plans, with the Long March 5 also to launch an orbiter and rover to Mars in summer 2020.
After testing and assembly of the third Long March 5 in Tianjin, north China—expected to be completed later this month—two cargo ships designated Yuanwang 21 and 22 will travel from the Yangtze River to collect the components and transport them to the island of Hainan in the South China Sea.
Following this two-week process, a two-month long campaign to get the Long March 5 vertically assembled and integrate the Shijian-20 communications satellite with the rocket with take place at a vertical assembly and testing building at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre.
Launch could then take place sometime in January, which unlike China's three closed inland launch sites will draw thousands of spectators.
China's largest rocket is undergoing final assembly at a facility in Tianjin ahead of its shipping to a coastal launch site for what will be a crucial mission for the country's space ambitions.
Footage aired on China Central Television (CCTV) on October 6 showed components of the Long March 5 at the factory under the attention of engineers.
The two-stage, 5-metre-diameter, 57-metre-tall Long March 5 launch vehicle is by far the largest and most capable in terms of payload capacity that China has developed.
This third Long March 5 rocket is being readied to launch a near-8-metric-tonne experimental communications satellite named Shijian-20 to geostationary transfer orbit sometime in January 2019.
After a successful maiden flight in November 2016, the second failed to reach orbit in July 2017, severely disrupting China's space plans.
The failure delayed a number of major missions, including the Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission which was scheduled for November 2017.
A variant named the Long March 5B had also been expected to have a test flight ahead of lofting the first 20-tonne module of the Chinese Space Station (CSS) into low Earth orbit.
January return to flight
The cause was determined to be damage to the turbopump on one of the two cryogenic YF-77 first stage engines, prompting a redesign of the structure and test-firing in Xi'an.
Success of the upcoming launch will be crucial to progress on China's lunar, space station and interplanetary exploration plans, with the Long March 5 also to launch an orbiter and rover to Mars in summer 2020.
After testing and assembly of the third Long March 5 in Tianjin, north China—expected to be completed later this month—two cargo ships designated Yuanwang 21 and 22 will travel from the Yangtze River to collect the components and transport them to the island of Hainan in the South China Sea.
Following this two-week process, a two-month long campaign to get the Long March 5 vertically assembled and integrate the Shijian-20 communications satellite with the rocket with take place at a vertical assembly and testing building at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre.
Launch could then take place sometime in January, which unlike China's three closed inland launch sites will draw thousands of spectators.
