China Maxes Out on Rocket Power

As China continues to emerge as one of the worlds superpowers and reach for the stars, it’s only natural that they reach out and develop new rockets. The current rocket in development is Long March 5. A prototype should be ready by 2012 with test flights the following year. The rocket will be ready to carry humans, modules and satellites to LEO and to geostationary orbit.

Li Tongyu who is the general manager of the marketing department at the China Academy of Launch vehicle Technology (CALT), says that engineers there are currently studying a rocket engine that is capable of generating 600 pounds of thrust. Long March 5 will only produce 120 pounds of thrust.

Li Tongyu says that rockets capable of 600 pounds of thrust are justifiable only for carrying humans to the moon.

It was also mentioned earlier in March that the next Chinese heavy launch vehicle could produce 300 pounds of thrust. This would look like Long March 5 but on a bigger scale, with one main thruster in the middle and four straps on boosters.

No one knows for sure where we will end up and weather we will explore as separate nations or as a planet. And that is what the Young Astros was set up for – to unite the next generation of space scientists throughout the world and to teach everyone to work and live in peace.