Lengthened Long March 5 becomes height benchmark of China's launch vehicles in commission

WENCHANG, Hainan -- China's newly-launched Long March 5 rocket has for the first time used an 18.5-meter-long fairing, setting a new height benchmark for China's carrier rockets in commission.

The rocket, coded as Long March 5 Y6, blasted off at 9:41 pm (Beijing Time) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the southern island province of Hainan on Friday, sending a high-orbit optical remote sensing satellite into its planned orbit.

The new fairing, which is 5.2 meters in diameter, is over 6 meters longer than the fairing of previous Long March 5 rockets, according to Zhu Haiyang, designer of the two-stage Long March 5 rocket that is developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

The longer fairing enhances the loading capacity and mission adaptability of Long March 5, and also makes its height exceed that of all Long March launch vehicles in commission.

In the next few years, the Long March 5 will enter a high-density launch cycle. The research team will further optimize the test and launch system relying on remote assistance to improve the test and launch efficiency.

The Long March-5 made its maiden flight in 2016.