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May 5, 2020
First launches of Long March-5B carrying China’s new-generation crewed spacecraft (CMS)
The Long March 5B rocket took off from Wenchang base. Its mission is crucial to prepare the sending of astronauts to the Moon and for its future space station.
China successfully launched a new spacecraft on Tuesday, the state agency New China announced, a crucial mission to prepare the dispatch of astronauts to its future large space station.
Long March-5B launch
Video above: The first Long March-5B launch vehicle was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, Wenchang, Hainan Province, China, on 5 May 2020, at 10:00 UTC (18:00 local time). The rocket launched China’s new-generation crewed spacecraft (CMS) on a test mission. CMS is designed to be reusable and it can carry both astronauts and cargo.
The craft was propelled from the base of Wenchang on the island of Hainan (south) using a Long-March rocket 5B, of which it was the inaugural flight, reported new China. For safety, no one had taken place on board the ship because of its experimental nature.
Long March-5B launch
Its main medium-term objectives: to send astronauts to the future space station and to make manned flights to the Moon.
China has already launched since 1999 several "Shenzhou" vessels, built on the model of the famous "Soyuz" Soviets, then Russians. The new ship launched on Tuesday is said to be safer. It will be faster, more heat resistant, longer (8.8 meters) and heavier (21.6 tonnes). The spacecraft should also be able to carry more astronauts (six instead of three) and be partially reusable.
The first Long March-5B prepares for launch
Video above: The first Long March-5B launch vehicle arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, Wenchang, Hainan Province, China, and is being prepared to launch China’s new crewed spacecraft in April. Long March-5B is being developed based on the Long March-5 rocket and will mainly be used for launching different modules of China’s next space station.
These characteristics open up new horizons for the Chinese manned space program. The spacecraft is thus supposed to be able to carry out more distant missions in space (to the Moon for example, or even even further), journeys which require greater speed and better protection against extreme temperatures.
China’s new-generation crewed spacecraft (CMS) integration
The future Chinese space station (CSS), called Tiangong in Mandarin (“Celestial Palace”), will consist of three parts: a main module almost 17 meters long (place of life and work) and two additional modules (for scientific experiments ). Its assembly in space should begin this year thanks to this new Longue-Marche 5B rocket (the most powerful in the country) and will be completed in 2022.
China is investing billions of euros in its space program. It places numerous satellites in orbit, on its own account or for other countries.
China’s new-generation crewed spacecraft (CMS)
In early 2019, it became the first nation in the world to land a probe on the far side of the Moon. In 2020, it should launch a probe to Mars. She also hopes to send a manned mission to the moon within ten years.
Related links:
China National Space Administration (CNSA): http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/index.html
For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC): http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html
Images, Videos, Text, Credits: ATS/CASC/China National Space Administration (CNSA)/China Central Television (CCTV)/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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