Long March rockets debut at Paris show

The Long March 6A and Long March 12, two types of carrier rockets built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, have made their inaugural international appearance at the ongoing 55th Paris Air Show.

Large scale models of the two rockets are on display at the CASC booth at the French event, which began on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on Sunday.

Both are medium-lift rocket models with a modern design and technologies, representing China's growing strength in the space launch vehicle industry, according to Fu Zhiheng, president of China Great Wall Industry, an international trades arm of the CASC.

"The Long March 6A is suitable for sending large groups of satellites to low-Earth orbit to establish networks. We are ready to put it on the international market if there are demands for the type," Fu said.

"And thanks to its modular configuration, the Long March 12 can be developed into a family of multiple variants. That means it offers our clients various options and promises greater flexibility," he told China Daily in an exclusive interview at the Paris show.

In the near future, Fu stated, China will put its reusable rockets on the international market, tremendously reducing launch costs, optimizing his company's service portfolio and creating more competitive advantages.

Both the Long March 6A and Long March 12 were developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, another CASC subsidiary.

The Long March 6A consists of a 50-meter, liquid-propelled core booster and four solid-fuel side boosters. The core booster has a diameter of 3.35 meters and is propelled by two engines burning liquid oxygen and kerosene.

The rocket has a liftoff weight of 530 metric tons and is tasked with transporting satellites to multiple types of orbits, including sun-synchronous, low-Earth and intermediate circular orbits.

The Long March 6A is the first Chinese rocket that uses both liquid — and solid-propellant engines as its main propulsion.

The Long March 12 is the first Chinese rocket with a diameter of 3.8 meters. Most Chinese rockets have a diameter of 3.35 meters, a width standard set in the 1960s as a result of constraints in rail transportation.

Standing at 62.6 meters tall, equivalent to the height of a 22-story residential building, the two-stage model is the second tallest of all Chinese rockets, only exceeded by the 62.8-meter Long March 5.

The vehicle is propelled by liquid oxygen-kerosene-fueled engines and has a liftoff weight of more than 430 tons. It is capable of transporting spacecraft with a combined weight of more than 12 tons to a low-Earth orbit or 6 tons of satellites to a typical sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometers.

To date, the Long March rocket family has 18 operational members. China Great Wall Industry has organized a number of Long March rocket launches to send more than 100 foreign satellites and scientific payloads into Earth's orbit.

"Our major advantage is that we are able to offer our clients a full chain of services, starting from requirement analysis to satellite design and construction, and finally, launching to orbit," Fu said.

He also noted that his company is willing to use its expertise and experience with international businesses to help Chinese private rocket enterprises tap into the global market.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn