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SHANGHAI / BEIJING • China successfully launched its largest carrier rocket yesterday, carrying a new-generation spacecraft, the state-run CCTV network said.
The Long March-5B carrier rocket took off at 6 p.m. Local time (1000 GMT) at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan. It was the first mission carried out by Long March-5B, CCTV reported, citing the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
The Long March-5B, with a length of approximately 54 m and a takeoff mass of approximately 850 tons, also carried an inflatable cargo return module.
Beijing said in March that it was aiming to launch an unmanned experimental spacecraft as part of a larger space flight program to transport astronauts to its future space station and for future manned space explorations. The launch was previously scheduled for the second half of last month.
China aims to complete a multi-module inhabited space station around 2022. It became the third country to put a man into space with its own rocket in 2003 after the former Soviet Union and the United States.
Since then, China has been competing to catch up with Russia and the US. USA To become a major space power by 2030.
REUTERS
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