China’s Long March-10 rocket, a new generation of China’s manned space launch vehicle, successfully completed its first static test firing at the Wenchang launch pad in southern Hainan province on Friday, the China Manned Space Technology Agency (CMSA) said, Xinhua reported.
The achievement marks a major milestone in China’s human lunar exploration program, following the successful zero-altitude flight test of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft and the comprehensive landing and takeoff test of the Lanyue human lunar module, the CMSA said.
At 3 p.m. on Friday, the seven first-stage engines of the test product of the rocket were simultaneously fired, after which a number of planned tests were carried out.
During the static test, the ability of the rocket’s seven parallel first-stage engines to operate simultaneously under standard and high operating conditions was evaluated, and complete test data was collected. The test was rated as a complete success, the agency said.
The thrust achieved on Friday reached nearly 1,000 tons, the largest such test ever conducted in China.
The Long March-10 series of rockets is developed for China’s manned lunar exploration missions and includes two configurations – the Long March-10 rocket and the Long March-10A rocket.
The Long March-10 rocket is a type of three-stage rocket with two boosters, with a diameter of 5 meters and a maximum altitude of 92.5 meters. This rocket will be used to launch a human spacecraft and a lunar module.
The Long March-10A is a two-stage reusable rocket, with a diameter of 5 meters and a maximum altitude of 67 meters. Its first stage can be recycled and reused, and will be used to launch the Mengzhou spacecraft and the Tianzhou cargo ship during the deployment and development phase of the Chinese space station.
The success of the static test has laid an important technical foundation for the human lunar exploration mission, the CMSA said.
The agency said the Long March-10 series rockets will be fully utilized in China’s human spaceflight program, working in tandem with the Mengzhou spacecraft to advance China’s human spaceflight and return-to-Earth transportation system.
New infrastructure support for China’s human lunar exploration program is under construction at the Wenchang launch pad, and all work is progressing smoothly, according to the CMSA.
