China launched the Long March 5, its largest-ever rocket

黑王子

China’s Long March 5 rocket reportedly failed shortly after lifting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the country’s southern Hainan Province.

China's space program has surged forward once more, having launched its largest-ever rocket, the Long March 5 ("Chang Zheng 5" in Chinese). Built by the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the heavy space launch LM-5 has a thrust of 1060 tons and a payload capacity of 25 tons, putting it in the same class as global heavyweights like the American Atlas V, Delta IV Heavy, and European Ariane V. The Long March 5 launched on Nov. 3, ultimately carrying the experimental Shijian 17 electronic propulsion satellite (pictured below) into geostationary orbit (GEO).


Originally, there would have been six LM-5 variants, but they have been superseded by the Long March 6, which first flew in September 2015, and Long March 7 in June 2016. Together, the Long March 5, 6, and 7 will be the workhorses of the modernized Chinese space launch program.


The LM-5's research and development phase began in 2007, followed by fabrication of the rocket fuselage, with integrated testing of components like fuel lines, propellant tanks, jetpumps, and electronic controls, beginning November 2015. With a fuselage skin only 3 millimeters thick, the LM-5's safety features include doubly redundant critical systems, such as electronic controls. LM-5's rocket motors burn liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen (LOX/LH), with only water as a byproduct, making it very environmentally friendly compared to previous Long March rockets, which used dinitrogen tetroxide and the carcinogenic unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.


The LM-5 has a payload faring diameter of 17 feet, enabling it to carry much wider cargos than smaller previous Chinese rockets. This is critical for payloads like permanent space station modules and large diameter spy satellites. Both LM-5 variants have a 16.4-foot diameter for the first stage and uses four booster rockets. Each booster rocket has a thrust of over 140 tons from its twin YF-77 engines.