China’s ambitious lunar exploration program takes a significant leap forward as the Long March-10 carrier rocket series successfully completes a crucial fairing separation test.
The Long March-10 rockets represent China’s new generation of manned launch vehicles, instrumental in achieving the nation’s goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030. The recent fairing separation test fully assessed critical areas such as design integrity, connection structures, and separation strategies.
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the developer of the Long March-10 rockets, announced on Wednesday that the fairing separated smoothly at the planned time and under predetermined conditions. All tested parameters met the stringent design requirements, verifying the rationality of the design and the coordination of interfaces.
“The results have validated the reliability of the entire system plan and provided valuable data for subsequent tests,” a CALT spokesperson remarked.
Fairing separation is a pivotal action in the rocket launch process, ensuring the spacecraft is shielded from the adverse effects of high-speed airflow during ascent. The fairing, an essential component of the launch vehicle, underwent testing with both its height and diameter measuring five meters—a newly developed configuration according to CALT.
This successful test marks substantial progress in the development of the Long March-10 series. The rockets have also passed several other large-scale tests, including a sub-stage power system test. CALT noted that it will continue to comprehensively verify the design of each system to ensure mission success.
The advancement of the Long March-10 carrier rockets underscores China’s growing capabilities in space exploration and its commitment to sending astronauts to the lunar surface within the next decade.
Reference(s):
China's Long March-10 carrier rocket passes fairing separation test
cgtn.com
