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| China successfully launched a prototype of its next-generation manned spacecraft ― without astronauts ― along with a new version of its heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket on Tuesday, its space agency said. Xinhua-Yonhap |
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The capsule detached from the Long March 5B rocket eight minutes after being launched from Hainan Island and it was sent into its designated orbit, state broadcaster CCTV quoted the Manned Space Engineering Office as saying.
"The trial flight was a complete success," the space agency said. "It is a prelude to the third step of China's manned space programme."
The launch marks a significant step forward for China's two big space exploration ambitions ― building a space station and a mission to Mars.
A modified version of China's most powerful rocket, the Long March 5B is 53.7 metres (176 feet) tall. It carried the next-generation crew capsule prototype designed to replace the Shenzhou spacecraft, to transport astronauts to its planned space station in low-Earth orbit.
China aims to launch the core module of that space station designed for three crew members, the Tianhe, in 2021. Beijing has been planning to build its own space station for decades as an alternative to the International Space Station, from which China has been excluded by the United States over security concerns.
The prototype capsule has a different configuration to Shenzhou's and it will be able to launch and land with three astronauts on board as well as up to 500kg of cargo, according to state news agency Xinhua. That will mean it can be used to transport research specimens and hardware from the space station back to Earth.
While the Shenzhou can ferry three astronauts, the new capsule design will be able to accommodate up to six crew members and, unlike the Shenzhou, it will be capable of taking them to the moon, according to Chinese media reports.
Its systems, performance in orbit and parachute deployment are among the areas being put to the test.
The long-anticipated space station project has been delayed by problems in the development of heavy-lift rockets to carry the modules. In 2017, an oxygen supply problem caused the failure of the second Long March 5 launch, and it plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after take-off. But in December it successfully carried a Shijian-20 satellite into orbit, while the liquid oxygen-liquid hydrogen engines used in both the Long March 5 and 5B rockets passed testing in January.
China's other space ambitions include a Mars probe, and landing astronauts on the moon within the next decade. For the Mars mission, the unmanned orbiter and rover Tianwen-1 will be launched by the Long March 5 and it is expected to take up to seven months for the probe to reach the red planet. China would be the third country to do so ― after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, said China was on track to launch the mission this year, with July the likely launch date.
