China mulls next generation rockets

Asia Bulletin (IANS) Sunday 5th February, 2012

China will launch its next generation Long March carrier rockets in the next five years, an expert said.

Yu Menglun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China has sought to develop non-toxic, low-cost, highly reliable, adaptable and safe carrier rockets.

The Long March family included the Long March-1, Long March-2, Long March-3 and Long March-4.

China will develop three other versions in the next five years: Long March-5, Long March-6 and Long March-7.

The Long March-5 has a maximum low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 25 tonnes and geosynchronous orbit payload capacity of 14 tonnes, Xinhua reported Sunday.

The Long March-6, designed to be a high-speed response launch vehicle, has a minimum of one tonne of sun-synchronous orbit payload.

The Long March-7 has a maximum low Earth-orbit payload capacity of 13.5 tonnes and 5.5 tonnes of sun-synchronous orbit payload, Yu said.

China started development of carrier rockets in 1956, and Long March rockets have become the main carriers for China's satellite launches.