BEIJING — China’s plans for a permanent space station remain firmly on track with the successful launch of its new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket that will enable ambitious future missions, including a planned trip to Mars. The towering rocket that blasted off Thursday night from the Wenchang launch centre will be used to launch components for the Tiangong 2 space station and other massive payloads. That is more than twice the carrying capacity of China’s most capable current rocket, the Long March 7. Wenchang on the southern island of Hainan is China’s fourth and newest launch site. Its upper section, the Yuanzheng 2, is designed to better launch multiple satellites and send them directly into orbit, Xinhua said.

Source: National Post November 04, 2016 19:11 UTC