China to launch Long March-9 rocket in 2028
China plans to launch the heavy-lift carrier rocket Long March-9 in 2028, said an official of China National Space Administration (CNSA) at the World Conference on Science Literacy 2018 on Tuesday.
An artist's impression of China's heavy-lift carrier rocket Long March-9 [File photo: CCTV]
Li Guoping, director of the Department of System Engineering of the CNSA, said that the length of the Long March-9 will exceed 90 meters, and the rocket would have a core stage with a diameter of 10 meters.
It would be able to carry a payload of 140 tonnes into low-Earth orbit, five times that of the Long March-5, said Li.
The rocket's capacity would also reach 50 tonnes for Earth-Moon transfer orbit.
China is also developing a medium space rocket, the Long March-8, which is expected to make its maiden flight in 2020.
The Long March rocket series have been launched 284 times, sending more than 400 spacecraft into space.