China’s 2nd heavy rocket transported by sea ahead of launch

The second Long March 5, China’s own heavy-lift launch vehicle (HLLV), has arrived at southern China’s Wenchang city, where it will be launched in June.

The rocket was transported from its factory in Tianjin to Wenchang by sea in six days, longer than expected as a result of a sudden weather change.

The rocket is scheduled to launch in June, sending the Shijian-18 communication satellite into Earth’s orbit.

Long March 5 has a payload capacity of 25 tons in low-Earth orbit, and 14 tons in geostationary orbit. Chinese people nicknamed the rocket “Chubby-5” for its large size.

The first Long March 5 was launched last November, also from Wenchang.

The space launch center in Wenchang is China’s fourth rocket launch site. It is where China’s first space cargo ship, the Tianzhou-1, was launched on April 20.