China to Launch New Long March-8 Rocket at First Commercial Space Launch Site
The rocket was developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It adopts liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (LH/LOX)—a "green" and environmentally friendly liquid propellant, and concluded a successful full rehearsal in early November this year. The new Long March-8 rocket implements a larger 3.35 meters diameter liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen second stage, coupled with two upgraded versions of the YF-75D engines (known as the YF-75H) with increased thrust to 10 tonnes each through measures, such as increased turbopump speeds. The Long March 8A can also use a larger 5.2 meter diameter payload fairing.
At 13:44, the rocket was transferred to No. 1 launch pad at the Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site.
Construction of the No. 1 launch pad started in July 2022 and finished on December 29, 2023.
The launch of Long March-8 marks the inaugural event for the No. 1 launch pad, serving as a further capability test of the launch site following its first successful launch mission.
On Nov. 30, a Long March-12 carrier rocket was successfully launched into space, serving as the maiden launch mission undertaken by the launch site.
China's commercial space industry expanded from 800 billion yuan (about 112 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019 to 1.9 trillion yuan in 2023. The market scale is expected to reach 2.34 trillion yuan by the end of 2024, according to an industry report.
Duration: 28 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 15, 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment