China's first heavy-lift rocket, the Long March 5, was successfully launched from the coastal Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Hainan province on Nov 3. It is a milestone for updating China's carrier rocket options — the diameter was widened from 3.35 meters to 5 meters — and indicates that Chinese aerospace technology is able to reach farther places.

The Long March 5, as well as the Long March 7, were both generally assembled at the Tianjin Aerospace Industry Base located at Binhai New Area, Tianjin.

Tao Gang, general manager of Tianjin Aerospace Long March Rocket Production Corporation, which is affiliated with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, said the base was constructed in Binhai District, Tianjin, due to considerations of the size of new generations of rockets and the geological and industrial conditions needed for rocket production.

Long March 5 was generally assembled at the Tianjin Aerospace Industry Base. [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

The base, covering two million square meters, consists of three sections: a rocket research and development production area, an aerospace technology application industrial zone, and a backup area. It features the research and development conditions for advancing space technology for the next 30 to 50 years and drives the local upgrading of industrial structure and cultivation of talents in Tianjin.

The Long March 5 will carry missions including the third phase of the lunar exploration project, the construction of a manned space station, and the first Mars exploration.

Staff examine the rocket fairing of a Long March 5 on Dec 12, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Behind all of these efforts is a young but devoted and passionate team.

Meng Fanxin, deputy general manager of Tianjin Aerospace Long March Rocket Co., Ltd, said to date, there are more than 800 staff at the Tianjin rocket base, with the average age of 27. As the processes of the Long March rocket series vehicles' research and development continues to progress, a young talent team will also be shaped.

The Master Cui Yun's Workshop is one of the many meeting rooms where aerospace staff discuss technological issues and receive professional training. [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

Meanwhile, the base has established cooperation with Tianjin University and Tianjin Sino-German University of Applied Sciences to cultivate skilled talents and to increase research projects on aerospace.

Aside from the general assembly stage, several compounds of the rockets are also purchased or produced in Tianjin. To date, 19 aerospace enterprises have settled down around the rocket base, which will benefit to the future research and development of aerospace technology at the base.