09 November 2022
Airshow China shows a model of the country's next-generation manned rocket for lunar landing missions. With a takeoff weight of 2,100 t, the new launch vehicle is 90 m long. It has a lunar-transfer-orbit capacity of 27 t and a LEO capacity of 70 t. The rocket to carry taikonauts is expected to make its maiden flight in 2027, said Zhao Xinguo, of CALT, at the ongoing 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the port city of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Apart from the manned rocket, the airshow also displays a model of a new heavy-lift rocket with greater carrying capacities. According to Zhao, it is capable of sending a payload of 50 t to Earth-moon transfer orbit, 35 t to Mars transfer orbit, and 150 t to the near-Earth orbit. The rocket is under development and scheduled to be launched around 2030, Zhao added.
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