Long March-8 Y2 Carrier Rocket Arrives at Wenchang Center

A Long March-8 Y2 carrier rocket arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province on Jan 21, 2022, after seven-day offshore transportation, according to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

A Long March-8 Y2 carrier rocket is transported to the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province, on Jan 21, 2022. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The carrier rocket will be assembled and undergo final tests at the center before its launch in late February or early March. It will be the first launch of the country's new generation carrier rocket in 2022.

The Long March-8 carrier rocket is the latest generation of China's Long March rocket family and can be launched from both the Wenchang and Jiuquan launch centers.

The 50.3-meter rocket has two core stages that have diameters of 3.35 and 3 meters. With 2.25-meter diameter boosters, the rocket has a liftoff weight of 356 metric tons and is capable of lifting payloads as heavy as 5 tons into a sun-synchronous orbit 700 kilometers above the earth's surface.

It completed its first flight from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Dec 22, 2020.

A Long March-8 Y2 carrier rocket is transported to the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, on Jan 21, 2022. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The Long March-8 carrier rocket uses green and environmentally-friendly liquid propellant and is based on modular combination concepts. It is expected to fill a gap in China's sun-synchronous orbit launch capability and meet future demands for low and medium-orbit high-density launch missions.

(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)