China aims for commercial race with at least 20 Long March-8 rocket launches a year
- Programme’s commander-in-chief says he is confident goal to launch rockets simply, quickly and often is achievable
- Reduced costs and future reusability aimed at making Chinese launches economical service for governments and companies
Commander-in-chief Xiao Yun said on an official government WeChat account that China’s goal was to launch rockets as simply and quickly as possible. His remarks were published on Tuesday, hours after the new rocket’s maiden launch from the southern island of Hainan.
The short preparation time, high launch frequency and planned future reusability would help reduce costs and create a competitive commercial launching service.
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There would also be military benefits. A shortened preparation time would allow for the speedy launch of replacement satellites if the country’s communications or navigational network in space was damaged or came under attack.
“Our goal is to launch the rocket as quickly as possible, even a one-click launch … We plan to put the assembly and production together in Hainan or some other place to omit the test, recheck and transport steps,” Xiao said.
“In the future, we want to simplify the procedure to improve efficiency so that a rocket launch mission can be completed by about 40 people in seven to 10 days.”
Xiao said China would make at least 20 launches a year, depending on the production capabilities for the Long March-8. “We are confident that we can achieve this goal.”