Beijing, Dec. 21, (dpa/GNA) – China on Sunday postponed the scheduled launch of a new Long March 8 rocket into space due to bad weather.
Officials noted stormy weather in the region and indicated that a fresh launch could be attempted on Tuesday from the Wenchang Space Centre on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
Part of the new rocket, such as the boosters, will be able to be reused in the future.
Another part that should be able to be reused in the future include the first rocket stage that can land vertically back on the Earth again a day after a launch.
The Long March 8 has a load capacity between 2.8 and 5 tons, depending on the orbit that it’s targeting.
China is pursuing an ambitious space programme, with missions to the Moon and Mars as well as the construction of its own space station in the coming years.
On Thursday, a Chinese space capsule carrying 2 kilograms of samples from the moon’s surface successfully landed back on Earth, making China only the third spacefaring nation to have brought lunar samples to Earth, after the United States and the Soviet Union.
It was the first time in 44 years that lunar soil and rocks were brought back to Earth.
GNA