China launches first section of its massive space station
It is now the only rocket in China that can launch Tiangong's heavy components.
The craft is so big that each of its side boosters is nearly 28 meters tall – the height of a 9-story building -- and 3.35 meters wide. Each of them has a thrust power of 240 tons, even stronger than many mid-lift rockets.
To hold huge spacecraft, the rocket has China's largest payload fairing that is 20.5 meters tall and 5.2 meters wide.
Long March 5B made its debut flight in May 2020 at the Wenchang space complex, deploying the prototype of China's new-generation manned spacecraft, an experimental cargo retrieval craft as well as more than 10 experimental payloads into low-Earth orbit.
Construction for the space station marks the beginning of the third stage in China's manned space program, which was approved by the government in 1992.
