China successfully launched the Zhongxing-1E satellite into preset orbit via a Long March-7A carrier rocket – the tallest member of the country’s Long March rocket family – from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in South China’s Hainan Province on Tuesday evening. 

It marked the fourth mission flight of the new-generation medium-size launch vehicle, and the launch technology process for the rocket type has been further optimized, being reduced from 32 days to only 26 days now, the Global Times learned from the rocket developer with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CLAT) around 9:18 pm.

The streamlined launch process signifies that the rocket type has made remarkable strides in boosting its launch efficiency, laying grounds for future high frequency launch demands, according to Wei Yuanming, chief designer of the rocket model.

Wei told the Global Times on Tuesday that the Long March-7A Y5 rocket has a diameter of 4.2 meters and a height of 60.1 meters, which is same as the Y2 rocket launched on March 12, 2021. 

Wei added that the Long March-7A has also the most number of modules among Chinese new generation rockets, as it consists of four boosters and three core stages. The six days streamlined process includes three days at the general assembly stage and two days at the testing stage, according to the CALT. 

The roll-out of the Long March-7A is believed to fill in a void in the country's launch capacity to the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) for payload weighing from 5.5 to 7 tons, and it is currently compatible with two sizes of nose cones with 4.2-meter-diameter or with 3.7-meter-diamter. 

The CALT also revealed that a new configuration of the Long March-7A with a 5.2-meter-diameter nose cone will also be developed according to the overall development trend of high-orbit satellites, meeting the demands of the launch of these satellites with larger-sized antennas and further improving the rocket's mission adaptability.

The satellite put in orbit during Tuesday mission will be used to provide high quality communication, radio and television services for users, according to the CALT. 

The maiden flight of Long March 7A ended in failure on March 16, 2020 due to a loss of pressure, which led to engine malfunction. Despite the ongoing pandemic and the complications brought by social distancing rules at the time, developers never stopped reexamining and studying the cause of the failure. In merely nine months, a correction of the original piece rolled out and passed the final round of tests on December 30, 2020.

The rocket type made a successful comeback on March 12, 2021, sending a technology verification satellite into preset orbit, also from the Wenchang spaceport.