China aims at becoming a major space power by 2030, launches spacecraft 

China on Tuesday moves closer to achieving its aim of becoming a major space power by 2030 as it successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, carrying a new-generation spacecraft, CCTV said.

The Long March-5B carrier rocket which took off at 1800 local time (1000 GMT) at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern island province of Hainan was the first mission carried out CCTV reported, citing the China Manned Space Engineering Office.

Recall, that China said in March it was aiming to launch an experimental spacecraft without a crew as part of a broader spaceflight programme to shuttle astronauts to its future space station and for future manned space exploration.

The launch was earlier scheduled for mid- to late April.

China aims to complete a multi-module, inhabited space station around 2022. It became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket in 2003 after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

culled from: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-05-05/china-launches-spacecraft-via-largest-carrier-rocket-cctv

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