First Long March 5B rocket arrives at launch center

The first Long March 5B carrier rocket arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on Wednesday for prelaunch preparations.

The rocket's components were carried by two rocket transportation ships－Yuanwang 21 and Yuanwang 22－from Tianjin, a northern coastal municipality and home to the launch vehicle's manufacturing complexes, and spent about a week traveling to the southernmost island province, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, the leading rocket developer in the country.

Long March 5B is the first variant of the Long March 5, which conducted its third mission at the Wenchang center in December. It will be tasked with sending large spacecraft to low-Earth orbit, the academy said in a statement.

The rocket is 53.7 meters long, with a diameter of 5 meters. It will be propelled by liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen and kerosene and will have a liftoff weight of about 849 metric tons.

Li Dong, the rocket's chief designer, said that the craft will be pollution-free and will be China's most powerful rocket in terms of carrying capacity to low-Earth orbit, capable of placing 22 tons of payloads to such orbit.

The designer said research and development of the rocket started in 2012. The first Long March 5B passed quality examination on Jan 19.

At the launch center, the rocket will undergo ground drills with the prototype of the Chinese space station's core module to verify the launch sequence for the space station. After the drills, it will make its debut flight in April to launch the prototype of the country's new manned spaceship, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The prototypes of the core module and manned spacecraft were transported by ships from Tianjin to the launch center in January.

According to the agency, the core module will be 16.6 meters long with a diameter of 4.2 meters and will have a liftoff weight of 22.5 tons.

As the biggest spacecraft China has ever built, the module will be able to accommodate three astronauts and will be central to the space station's operations, as mission crew will live there and control the entire station inside it. The module will also be capable of hosting scientific experiments.

The new-generation manned spaceship will have a total length of 8.8 meters and a liftoff weight of 21.6 tons. It will be tasked with serving the construction and operation of the future space station as well as the country's manned lunar missions that are being planned by scientists, the agency noted.