The
medium-lift Long March 8 Y-1 blasted off at 12:37 p.m. (0437
GMT) from the southern Chinese island of Hainan carrying five
satellites, state media reported.
China plans to develop reusable rockets under the Long March 8
series in the coming years, similar to the Falcon range already
produced by U.S. private aerospace firm SpaceX.
State media did not say if the Long March 8 Y-1 itself was
reusable, but future variants are expected to be capable of
vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL), allowing them to
be used for more than one launch.
China will develop its first VTVL vehicle around 2025, an
official at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the
country's main space contractor, told a local conference in
November.
The Long March 9 Y-1 launch wrapped up a hectic year for China's
space programme.
Earlier this month, China brought back rocks and soil from the
moon in the first lunar sample retrieval since 1976. In July,
China launched its first independent mission to Mars.
Around 2022, China aims to complete a multi-module, inhabited
space station.
By 2045, it hopes to establish a programme operating thousands
of flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of
cargo and passengers.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Liangping Gao; Editing by Lincoln
Feast.)
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