Space travel is the latest industry to embrace the green movement, as China has launched a rocket using fuel that is free of both pollution and toxins. The country used the Long March 6, currently China’s cleanest known rocket, to bring 20 micro-satellites into orbit on Sunday.
The Long March 6 experienced a successful launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, which is located in the Shanxi province of north China.
The rocket is not fully green, but it is extremely environmentally friendly in terms of rockets. The Long March 6 is powered by a liquid propellant that consists of liquid oxygen and kerosene. Chinese engineers say that it is China’s first rocket to utilize fuel that is both pollution and toxin free.
The rocket is a smaller-sized carrier rocket that will be used mostly to launch microsatellites with the goal of increasing China’s presence in the lucrative commercial satellite market.
China’s space program is largely secretive, as it is closely tied to the military of the country. However, the country is eager to share news of its scientific ambitions and its planned 2017 mission to the moon.
Meanwhile, another rocket, the Long March 5, is currently being prepared for a test run that will simulate its planned 2017 moon mission. The Long March 5 is considerably larger than the Long March 6, as it plans to carry astronauts.
The space agency of China has already made considerable progress in its development. The country has landed a rover on the moon, making it the third nation to accomplish the feat. The other two nations are the United States and Russia.
Last year, China successfully sent an unmanned probe round-trip to the moon and back to Earth. China hopes to visit the dark side of the moon by 2020.
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