China mulls next generation rockets

Posted on: 06 Feb 2012

Beijing: 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.