China’s lunar rocket test marks milestone in bringing astronauts to moon
China completes critical test of Long March-10 rocket, which will play key role in building scientific research base at lunar south pole
China has completed a critical test for its moon rocket, moving a step closer to landing astronauts and building a base on the lunar surface.
A full-size first stage of the Long March-10 was fired for about 30 seconds at around 3pm on Friday at the Wenchang spaceport on Hainan Island, according to the China Manned Space Agency. Bolted to the ground, its seven YF-100K engines roared to life together, generating nearly 900 tonnes of thrust.
“The test confirmed the engines could run in sync under both normal and high-power conditions, and yielded a full set of data,” the agency said.
It also marked “another major milestone” in China’s crewed lunar programme, following recent tests of the Mengzhou spacecraft’s emergency escape system and the Lanyue lander’s landing-and-ascent sequence, according to the agency.
Standing 92 metres (302 feet) tall, the Long March-10 will lift off with a total of 21 YF-100K engines – seven on the first stage and seven on each of two boosters – giving it about three times the thrust of the Long March-5, China’s most powerful rocket today.
The superheavy launcher can deliver 27 tonnes to a trans-lunar orbit. Under current plans, two Long March-10 rockets will launch the crewed Mengzhou spacecraft and the Lanyue lander separately, with the two vehicles rendezvousing in lunar orbit ahead of a landing attempt by 2030.
The rocket will also play a key role in building the China-led International Lunar Research Station, or ILRS – a base for scientific research and resource utilisation near the moon’s south pole that China aims to establish with Russia and other partners by 2035.
The Long March-10’s development officially began in 2017, but it draws on decades of Chinese liquid-rocket engine research. An earlier milestone came in June last year, when three YF-100K first-stage engines were fired together for several minutes.
Guo Wei, the rocket’s deputy chief commander, said Friday’s trial was China’s first static fire test conducted at a space launch site.
“Existing test stands could not handle the enormous loads generated by the rocket’s thrust, so the team used an actual launch pad to stage the nearly 1,000-tonne-thrust trial,” he told the China Daily.
The test fully verified the first-stage propulsion module, focusing on multi-engine operation, fault detection and other key technologies. It also evaluated new heat-resistant coatings and structures in the rocket’s design, according to team member Zhu Pingping.
While the Long March-10 is dedicated to crewed lunar missions and is fully expendable, its 10A variant now in development will feature a reusable first stage.
Standing 67 metres tall, the Long March-10A will launch the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo ship for China’s Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit.