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China has successfully launched a new rocket and a spacecraft prototype, according to state media, in major evidence of its ambitions to operate a permanent space station and send astronauts to the Moon.
A Long March 5B rocket took off from the Wenchang launch site on the southern island of Hainan and eight minutes later, a prototype unmanned spacecraft successfully separated and entered its planned orbit, Xinhua reported. A test version of a chargeback capsule was also successfully detached from the rocket, Xinhua said.
China hopes that the spacecraft will one day transport astronauts to a space station it plans to complete by 2022, and eventually to the Moon. It will have capacity for a crew of six.
The spacecraft and capsule were scheduled to return to a landing site on Friday after completing its test flights, said Ji Qiming of China’s manned space agency.
Until now, the United States is the only country that has sent humans to the Moon. But in his effort to reach China, he has sent astronauts into space, orbiting satellites, and a rover to the other side of the Moon in 2019.
The successful maiden flight of the 54B Long March 5B, which has a takeoff mass of approximately 849 tonnes, should reassure China, following failures of the Model 7A in March and the Model 3B in April. Beijing has launched several spacecraft since 1999 and its previous ship, Shenzhou, was inspired by Russia’s Soyuz.
The assembly of the Tiangong space station, whose name means Heavenly Palace, is expected to start this year and end in 2022. It will have three modules, with houses and work areas and two annexes for scientific experiments.
China plans to send an astronaut to the Moon in about a decade, and then build a base there. His moon vehicle on the far side has traveled about 450 meters so far.
The next big mission for Beijing is to land a probe on Mars, and a takeoff is expected this year.
