Outer space

China Launches New Rocket, Prototype Crew Capsule

China successfully launched a new rocket and a prototype next-generation crew capsule Saturday (June 25) in the first-ever liftoff from the nation's new launch center.

The Long March 7 rocket — which China developed in part to help build and service a crewed space station that the nation plans to have up and running by the early 2020s — blasted off on its maiden flight from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 8 a.m. EDT Saturday (1200 GMT; 8 p.m. local time), Chinese officials said.

The uncrewed liftoff aimed to test both the new rocket and the launch facility, which is located on the island of Hainan, off China's southern coast. But there were other objectives as well; the Long March 7 also carried a scaled-down version of a future crew capsule, a satellite-deploying upper stage, and technology demonstrations in space-junk cleanup, satellite refueling and other fields, Chinese officials have said.