China launched a rocket bound for Mars
The Asian country sent to the orbit a ship named Long March 5 Y3, whose first launch failed in 2017
China launched its largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5 Y3, on December 27 with the Shijian-20 telecommunications satellite, weighing more than eight tons. It will be used to go to Mars.
About 37 minutes after takeoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province, to the south of the country, the satellite was sent to its planned orbit and the launch mission was declared a success.
The Long March 5 is 57 meters high and weighs – when taking off – 867 tons. It can carry a payload of 23 tons to low Earth orbit and up to 11 to high orbit.
Since the second launch of Long March 5 failed in 2017, Chinese aerospace engineers and scientists have been working to solve technological problems related to the engine, and have spent several months reviewing and conducting several tests on the ground to verify its operation.
Wu Yanhua, deputy administrator of the National Space Administration of China, told CGTN that after the successful launch of this mission, there will be other important missions, including the first Mars mission in China, the launch of Chang’e-5, as well as the launch of the mission of the central capsule of the manned space station.
K. Tovar
Source: dpa
