People stood on the hot beach in Hainan Island China. No, a China Cinco de Mayo party isn’t happening on the beach. People gathered for a launch party. They wanted to get a glimpse of the newly upgraded rocket. The Long March 5B rocket carrying the hopes and aspirations of China lifted off from the launch pad in the afternoon of May 5th, 2020.
Long March-5 series rockets classify as heavy-lift launch-vehicles. After years of research, China’s development of the new generation of launch-vehicles started. State-owned company CASC leads the development. The Long March 5 rocket belongs to the new generation of rockets also including the Long March 6 (light) and Long March 7 (medium). These new launch vehicles replace the LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4 rockets.
More eco-friendly LM-5 starts not so well.
Instead of using toxic propellants like the LM-2, LM-3, and LM-4, the Long March 5 uses cryogenic LOX/LH. The LM-5B variant that launched today provides China with a heavy-lift rocket for Low Earth Orbit. The LM-5B builds upon the earlier launches of the Long March 5 rocket which debuted in 2016. (you can read more about the Long March Family of Rockets here)
The first two launches of the Long March 5 rocket did not go without issues. The first launch got delayed multiple times. Issues involving an oxygen vent and chilling of the engines prevented the launch. After hours of delay, the launch countdown proceeded after resolving the issue. The final countdown did go smoothly. Three interruptions caused by the flight control computer and the tracking software further delayed the launch. The rocket finally launched at 12:43 UTC. The first orbit of the rocket also needed correction.
A disaster on the 2nd Long March 5 launch.
On July 2nd, 2017, an LM-5 experienced an anomaly shortly after launch. After attempts to salvage the launch operation, the announcement of the failure came 45 minutes into the mission. CASC confirmed the anomaly and indicated one of the YF-77 engines in the first stage as the root cause.
The failure of LM-5 in 2017 resulted in delays while corrective actions to prevent occurrence took place. Chinese high-throughput comm satellite program pushed out by 2 years. The 3rd Long March 5 mission launched on 27 December 2019, at about 12:45 UTC from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, China. CASC quickly declared the mission successful. The announcement highlighted the Shijian-20 communications satellite’s insertion into the correct geostationary transfer orbit.
China’s future in space depends on the LM5.
China’s new aspirations include a long-term presence in space. China’s new space station intends to offer similar capabilities to the ISS. The station, although smaller than International Space Station, provides a sustained long-term space presence. By 2022 China hope the space station begins operations. With the future of the ISS coming to an end, China may have the only space station in low earth orbit.
China’s current space aspirations include sending people to the moon and beyond. Most details remain private. However, China started to develop and test a new spacecraft. The new spacecraft diverges from the Shenzhou design to the more typical blunted cone section. The new design first garnered some media attention during the initial spacecraft testing in 2013.
The Long March 5B launch on May 5th, 2020 sent the test article for this new spacecraft into orbit. The launch represents a test for both the new space capsule and the Long March 5 rocket. If China worked all the bugs out, then the future space station and deep space exploration move ahead as planned.
To support this vision, China’s spacecraft has two variants. The first variant around 14 metric tons intended for Low Earth Orbit. The second, larger 20 ton variant for deep space missions opens the door for China to go to the moon.
The spacecraft also upgrades the seating capacity. The current spacecraft used by China only accommodates three. the new version doubles that capacity.
At the time of writing this article, no formal announcement on the successful insertion of the spacecraft into orbit or declaration of success has been made publically.
About The Author
Bill D’Zio
Co-Founder at WestEastSpace.com
Bill founded WestEastSpace.com after returning to China in 2019 to be supportive of his wife’s career. Moving to China meant leaving the US rocket/launch industry behind, as the USA and China don’t see eye to eye on cooperation in space. Bill has an engineering degree and is an experienced leader of international cross-functional teams with experience in evaluating, optimizing and awarding sub-contracts for complex systems. Bill has worked with ASME Components, Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) for use in launch vehicles, satellites, aerospace nuclear, and industrial applications.
Bill provides consulting services for engineering, supply chain, and project management.
