Long March-2F is reliable: spokesperson

JIUQUAN -- The Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be used to carry China's second space lab, Tiangong-2, is reliable and has been launched 11 times, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office, told reporters that they are confident about the Tiangong-2 mission, which will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert at 10:04 pm Thursday.

Long March-2F carrier rockets have been launched 11 times and all missions have been successful, said Wu, who added that since 2000, there have been 1,200 space launches worldwide, and their success rate has been around 94.3 percent.

Wu said all of China's space products were designed and made under a strict quality control system, adding that designers and engineers strengthened their quality awareness and studied the risks to make sure the launch is absolutely safe and the vehicles have no hidden dangers.

The mission command center convened an on-site meeting to study the quality of the Tiangong-2 mission and make arrangements for quality assurance work after the launch, said Wu.