spacetoday.net: China launches first Long March 5B

China launches first Long March 5B

Posted: Sun, May 10, 2020, 12:52 PM ET (1652 GMT)
Long March 5B first launch (Xinhua)

China launched the first Launch March 5B rocket Tuesday, a major milestone in its plans to develop a space station. The Long March 5B rocket, a version of the Long March 5 intended for missions to low Earth orbit, lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 6 am EDT (1000 GMT). It placed into orbit a prototype of a next-generation crewed spacecraft. The successful launch allows China to proceed with development of a space station, whose modules will be launched on the Long March 5B. The station's core module, Tianhe, is expected to launch in early 2021. The launch also clears the way for a Long March 5 launch this July of the Tianwen-1 Mars mission.