[size="3"][url="http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2494428.ece?homepage=true"]All set for China's space module launch today[/url] : The Hindu, September 28, 2011
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[size="3"]The Long March-2FT1 is the latest modified model of the Long March-2 rocket series and features a more powerful thrust force, said spokeswoman Wu Ping at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.[/size]
[size="3"]The Long March-2FT1, given more than 170 improvements, is 52-metre long with a payload to low Earth orbit of 8.6 tonnes,said Mr. Wu.[/size]
[size="3"]The modifications came after an unsuccessful launch in August when a Long March-2C rocket failed to send an experimental satellite into orbit. Engineers conducted comprehensive technical evaluations and made modifications to Tiangong-1's Long March-2F carrier rocket, which shares most of its components with the failed Long March-2C.[/size]
[size="3"]To contain the Tiangong-1 module, which is larger than China's Shenzhou manned spacecraft, the Long March-2FT1 has a larger nose fairing, according to Jing Muchun, chief designer of the Tiangong mission's carrier rocket system.[/size]
[size="3"]The shape of the rocket's boosters has also been modified to allow for greater fuel volume than the Long March-2F model, resulting in an increase in its thrust power, said the chief designer.[/size]
[size="3"]Compared with carrier rockets that the United States and Russia have used to launch Moon-landing vehicles and space station components, China's Long March rocket series is much less powerful.[/size]
[size="3"]For example, a carrier rocket must have a payload capacity of at least 20 tonnes to send one single part of the International Space Station into low Earth orbit. ââ¬ÅChina's manned space programme aims at building up a space station, so we need a more powerful carrier rocket,ââ¬Â Jing told Xinhua at the launch center.[/size]
[size="3"]ââ¬ÅResearch and development on a new, bigger carrier rocket that burns more environmentally-friendly liquid-oxygen-kerosene fuels is in progress,ââ¬Â he said. [/size]
[size="3"] [/size]
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Quote:[floatleft][size="3"]A spokesperson for China's manned space programme said on Wednesday that fuel had been injected into the Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket in preparation for launching the Tiangong-1 space module on Thursday as planned.[/size][/floatleft][/size]
[size="3"]The Long March-2FT1 is the latest modified model of the Long March-2 rocket series and features a more powerful thrust force, said spokeswoman Wu Ping at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.[/size]
[size="3"]The Long March-2FT1, given more than 170 improvements, is 52-metre long with a payload to low Earth orbit of 8.6 tonnes,said Mr. Wu.[/size]
[size="3"]The modifications came after an unsuccessful launch in August when a Long March-2C rocket failed to send an experimental satellite into orbit. Engineers conducted comprehensive technical evaluations and made modifications to Tiangong-1's Long March-2F carrier rocket, which shares most of its components with the failed Long March-2C.[/size]
[size="3"]To contain the Tiangong-1 module, which is larger than China's Shenzhou manned spacecraft, the Long March-2FT1 has a larger nose fairing, according to Jing Muchun, chief designer of the Tiangong mission's carrier rocket system.[/size]
[size="3"]The shape of the rocket's boosters has also been modified to allow for greater fuel volume than the Long March-2F model, resulting in an increase in its thrust power, said the chief designer.[/size]
[size="3"]Compared with carrier rockets that the United States and Russia have used to launch Moon-landing vehicles and space station components, China's Long March rocket series is much less powerful.[/size]
[size="3"]For example, a carrier rocket must have a payload capacity of at least 20 tonnes to send one single part of the International Space Station into low Earth orbit. ââ¬ÅChina's manned space programme aims at building up a space station, so we need a more powerful carrier rocket,ââ¬Â Jing told Xinhua at the launch center.[/size]
[size="3"]ââ¬ÅResearch and development on a new, bigger carrier rocket that burns more environmentally-friendly liquid-oxygen-kerosene fuels is in progress,ââ¬Â he said. [/size]
[size="3"] [/size]
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