China's domestically developed Lijian-2 Yao-2 launch vehicle was moved today
(26th) to its dedicated launch stand at the Dongfeng commercial space innovation
test zone and has entered final pre-launch preparations; launch will be
scheduled opportunistically. The rocket has a maximum payload capacity of about
12 tonnes and can deploy multiple satellites in a single flight or carry space
cargo ships. It is China's first launcher to adopt a modular "universal booster
core" design, allowing three identical booster-core stages to be combined to
boost capacity, simplify mass production and reduce costs.
