14 DAY TRIAL // Engineers at the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announce the successful testing of a new rocket engine, which will be used on the Asian nation's new delivery system, the Long March 5.
The test firing of the new thruster took place this Sunday, on July 29, in the city of Xi'an, of northwest China. According to official technical charts, the engine is powered by kerosene and liquid oxygen.
Analysts say that this successful test is essential for the construction of Long March 5, which will be China's main workhorse when the country begins constructing its own space station in Earth's orbit.
The installation is scheduled for completion by 2020. CNSA is renowned for moving very fast with its projects. The agency had its first space flight in 2003, and the first manned spacewalk just 5 years later.
Long March 5 will also be capable of delivering manned Shenzhou space capsules into lunar orbit. CNSA plans to land taikonauts on Earth's natural satellite, possibly before the end of the decade.
The engines currently in use, those powering the Long March 2F rockets, are insufficient for such performances. They can only be used to launch limited payloads into low-orbit, scientists explain.
Xinhua, a state-run Chinese news agency, reports that Long March 5 is currently scheduled to perform its maiden flight no later than 2014, three years ahead of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS).
The agency went on to say that the engine was exposed to temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,432ºF) on Sunday, for 3.3 minutes, while spinning at a rate of 20,000 revolutions per minute.
“The successful tests confirm the reliability of China's LOX/kerosene engine,” Chinese test commander Lai Daichu said for the China Daily newspaper, as quoted by Space. The tests were performed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The new LOX/kerosene thrusters will deliver an extra 44 tons of thrust from the engines on the Long March 2F rockets, reaching a total of 118 tons of thrust. The fuel they use is pollution-free, non-toxic, and more reliable than the one of the previous generation of motors.
These capabilities will enable Long March 5 to launch 14 tons of payload into geostationary orbit, or 25 tons into low-Earth orbit. The latter is enough for the Shenzhou capsules, or for large satellites.
In addition to the space station and manned lunar exploration missions, CNSA also plans to conduct a robotic sample-return expedition to the Moon in 2016. The mission would be aimed at collecting and returning lunar soils samples back to Earth for studies.