China to develop new Long March 6 rocket for space missions
08 Sep 2009
Beijing: China has begun work on the next generation of Long March 6 carrier rockets for its space programme, the China National Space Administration has announced. According to the agency, the Long March 6 rockets will not only be non-toxic and pollution-free but for the first time will also field a number of new technologies in China.
The Long March 6 rockets are expected to be operationalised in 2013, it said.
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| Shenzhou VII blast off |
The rockets are being developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which has earlier developed the Shenzhou VII spacecraft. Apart from other missions, the Shenzhou VII has also carried Chinese cosmonauts into space.
The payload capacity of the Long March 6 rockets has not been revealed.
China's upcoming space programme includes setting up a simple space lab in 2011 as well as a manned space station in 2020. It also intends to explore deeper in space and attempt a moon landing.
