China launched Thursday its new heavy lift rocket Long March 5, marking an important step towards the nation's ambition of creating a manned space station. The 57-metre-long rocket took off from a launch centre on the southern island of Hainan and is transporting a satellite and other equipment needed for a space station planned to be completed by 2022, state media reported. Long March 5 can carry a load weighing up to 25 tons and is planned to be used to transport the Chinese space station's central module, known as Tianhe 1, into space. If the International Space Station (ISS) ends operations in 2024 as planned, China's space station - if completed - would be the only permanently manned station in space, dpa reported.
