A new Chinese rocket for crewed lunar missions will be tested in 2026.
The Long March 10A rocket is set to embark on its inaugural flight in 2026, marking a significant milestone for the future launch of taikonauts to the Moon. This announcement was made by the official newspaper of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Science and Technology Daily.
2024-11-10 10:00:13https://naked-science.ru/community/1004834
The Long March 10A rocket, measuring 67.4 meters in length and 5 meters in diameter, will be used to launch a next-generation crewed spacecraft to the "Tiangong" station. The launch vehicle will be capable of delivering a payload of up to 14,200 kilograms to low Earth orbit in a configuration with the first reusable stage.
The lunar variant of the Long March 10 will be longer: its height will reach 92 meters, and it will be able to deliver 27 tons of payload to a geotransfer orbit.
In June 2024, Chinese engineers successfully conducted a static fire test of the first stage of the Long March 10A rocket.