Two different tests were launched on the fifth. One testing an inflatable heat shield which has apparently failed, and the other is the future crewed spacecraft.
China's Space Program News Thread
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Two different tests were launched on the fifth. One testing an inflatable heat shield which has apparently failed, and the other is the future crewed spacecraft.
antiterror13
Brigadier
it's not designed for it
Long March 5B is primarily designed to lift heavy payloads into LEO. ie. Future segments of Chinese space station.
The new generation manned spacecraft launched on May 5th is a payload of opportunity. The spacecraft itself however is believed to possess enough Delta-V for lunar free return orbit.
The CZ-5B is designed for hauling heavy load into low earth orbit (LEO).
Both the Mars Orbiter/Lander/Rover mission (scheduled for May) and the Chang'e 5 Lunar Sample Return mission (planned for 2H20) will use the CZ-5. The Wikepedia article explains the differences between CZ-5 and CZ-5B.
Okay, so there were two payloads on this mission.
The primary, important payload was the new spacecraft capsule, which will be doing an elliptical orbit and has yet to do re-entry. This spacecraft is the primary payload, and its success or failure could alter the speed with which CNSA may have a new generation manned spacecraft for use in the future.
The secondary payload which is separate from the first payload, and which we only discovered was present on the mission as the rocket launched, is a small return capsule with an inflatable heatshield, developed to test inflatable heatshield technology. This payload is much smaller than the first and is arguably much less important than the first.
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