The first flight of China's new generation carrier rocket Long March 8 successfully fills the gap of China's solar synchronous orbit capability

At 12:37 on December 22, the first flight test of Long March 8, a new medium-sized carrier rocket developed by China, was successfully carried out at Wenchang space launch site in Hainan. The rocket flew normally and the test was successful. The successful first flight of Chang-8 rocket will fill the gap of China's 3-4.5-ton carrying capacity in sun synchronous orbit and lay a solid foundation for the development of China's reusable launch vehicle.

At 12:37 on the 22nd, with a loud noise, the Long March 8 carrier rocket made its first flight at Wenchang space launch site in Hainan, successfully sending five satellites into the scheduled orbit.

As a new generation of China's launch vehicle, the long march eight is about 50 meters long and takes off about 360 tons. The green liquid propellant is developed according to the modular combination idea, which fully absorbed the research results of the in service and new generation launch vehicles, and has good inheritance, advanced nature, adaptability and economy. Mu Yu, director of the overall design department of the first Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, introduced that the Long March 8 rocket is mainly used to launch the sun synchronous orbit (SSO) satellite, and takes into account the launch capacity of low earth orbit and geosynchronous transfer orbit. It will fill the gap of China's 3-4.5-ton carrying capacity in sun synchronous orbit, which is of great significance for accelerating the upgrading and upgrading of launch vehicles. "Through the minimum cost: the development cycle is very short, and the formal project development (has) for two or three years, we can form combat effectiveness. It is equivalent to the improvement of our carrying capacity in the sun synchronous orbit, and it can make up for some gaps in our previous orbit (capacity), and also carry out the non-toxic and pollution-free update of the power system.

Of course, the launch of new launch vehicles is bound to be accompanied by some risks and challenges. On the eve of the test launch, the launch mission originally planned to be carried out on the 20th was delayed due to environmental factors such as high-altitude wind. The reporter learned that due to the compact structure and light weight of the new launch vehicle, the flight attitude has very high requirements for the protection of high-altitude wind environment. Pan Hao, chief designer of the Long March 8 rocket control system of the first Academy of China Aerospace Science and technology group, further explained, "because of the typhoon's transit, its method is to identify and control (the mode). That is to say, the wind must blow first. I feel the wind coming, and then I will produce corresponding actions to offset such a way. But when the wind is really very strong and fast, the rocket has no time (reaction) and can't react. Because unlike other small aircraft, the arrow is more sensitive. The rocket is bigger, it moves more slowly. When the wind changes faster than the rocket, it is impossible to make a very timely and effective response.

It is understood that the Long March 8 launch vehicle is China's first commercial launch vehicle approved by the state. While carrying out low-cost electrical and structural design, it may be reusable in the future through vertical takeoff and landing research. Mu Yu said, "in the future, the Long March 8 will be further optimized for commercial launch, including the optimization of technical solutions, so that its launch cost will be lower. We will also try to carry out the verification and exploration of reuse technology, further reduce the cost and threshold of our access to space, making it possible for us to launch a large number of missions. "

Compared with the past, the engine throttling technology has been adopted for the first time in the Long March 8 launch vehicle, which aims to optimize the rocket's carrying capacity to the greatest extent and lay a foundation for the recovery of the following core stage engines.

It is reported that this mission is the 356th launch of the long march series launch vehicles.