BEIJING: China’s Long March-8 Y1 rocket was on Wednesday transported to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province, preparing for its maiden launch in late December, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
After the transportation, the rocket will be filled with propellant and is expected to be launched from the site. With two stages and two boosters, the Long March-8 rocket is a new type of rocket that uses module design and can be prepared in a short time, making it competitive for commercial launch, reported media.
The first stage of the Long March-8 rocket is similar to that of the Long March-7 rocket and the second stage rocket is similar to the third stage of the Long March-3A rocket.
It has a payload capacity of five tons to sun-synchronous orbit and 2.8 tons to geostationary transfer orbit, according to the CNSA.
The Long March-8 rocket is estimated to conduct 10 to 20 launches annually after it hits the market, the administration said.
A planned future launch vehicle variant of the Long March-8 will feature combined booster recovery of the first stage and the boosters as a single unit.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
