China completes test ignition of largest solid-fuel rocket motor

China's largest solid-fuel rocket motor goes through test ignition on August 2, 2016, in the northwest city of Xi'an.

China has completed the test ignition of its largest solid-fuel rocket motor in the northwest city of Xi'an.

With a diameter of three meters, the solid-fuel rocket motor ran for 100 seconds after ignition.

The successfully tested technologies will be used in heavy-lift and large rockets for China's deep-space explorations and manned moon-landings.

Solid-fuel rocket engines have a much larger capacity than liquid-fueled iterations.

The development comes as China is scheduled to launch its largest carrier rocket, the Long March-5, later this year.