The Dongfanghong-5-based Shijian-18 (01) satellite.
3.03.2018
China's Long March 5 heavy-lift space launch vehicle will attempt a return to flight in the second half of 2018, according to an official with the country's main space contractor.
The third Long March 5 rocket will launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island province of Hainan carrying Shijian-20, a large, experimental satellite to be placed into geostationary orbit.
The information comes from Bao Weimin, head of the Science and Technology Committee of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country's main space contractor, who spoke to state media on Friday.
According to the report, the cause and mechanism of the launch failure of the second Long March 5, which failed to reach orbit on July 2 last year, has been ascertained, and efforts are underway to verify that the cause is correctly identified and measures taken will be effective. No precise details of the issue that cause the failure were revealed.
Shijian-20
The Shijian-20 satellite will be based on the large DongFangHong-5 (DFH-5) satellite bus, as with the Shijian-18 satellite lost in the second Long March 5 launch. It would be the first test of new platform, if launch is successful.
Zhao Xiaojin, vice president of the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a subordinate to CASC, also speaking to media ahead of the start of China's annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing, says Shijian-20 will provide comprehensive verification of the key technologies and provide new space for future space development, and pave the way for new models of next generation high-capacity broadband communications satellites.
Long March 5 missions
The 2.5 stage Long March 5 is capable of lofting 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, and will be used to launch the ambitious Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission, which was due to launch in November, as well as China's first independent interplanetary mission - to Mars - in the summer 2020 launch window.
If the flight of the Long March 5 (Y3) is successful later this year it will pave the way for the test launch of the 1.5 stage Long March 5B, a variant of the Long March 5 to be used for launches to low Earth orbit - particularly modules for the planned Chinese Space Station.
If these flights are successful the core module of the CSS - named Tianhe - could launch around the second half of 2019.
Last month China performed a successful static fire test of the YF-77 rocket engine, a pair of which power the core of the Long March 5.
A rendering of the completed Chinese Space Station, including docked Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft.
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