Government Claims It Will Deliver Heavier Payloads Than NASA SLS

China says that by 2030, its new Long March-9 rocket will be capable of delivering heavier payloads into low-Earth orbit than NASA can boost into space.

The website phys.org reports that the Long March-9 is expected to have the power to carry 140 metric tons into LEO, about the weight of television and earth observation satellites, according to Long Lehao, a senior official from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, speaking to the official Xinhua news agency.

By comparison, the Ariane 5 rocket can deliver about 20 metric tons into orbit, and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy can boost 64 metric tons. NASA's SLS is expected to be able to carry about 130 metric tons into space.

Long told Xinhua that the missions of the Long March-9 could included manned missions to the Moon, deep space exploration, and the construction of a space-based solar power plant.

China is also reportedly working on a reusable booster, which is expected to fly for the first time in 2021. The country hopes to have a manned space station in orbit by 2022, and send humans to the moon shortly thereafter.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report