China has successfully completed a crucial safety test and fired off a new-generation rocket as part of the country’s preparations for a crewed mission to the moon.
The Chinese space programme had already carried out a ground-level safety test in June, but the latest test was designed to check that crew members would be able to escape after lift-off.
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The test also featured the first flight of a Long March-10 carrier rocket, which is being developed to launch Chinese astronauts to the moon.
The uncrewed vessel took off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan aboard a Long March-10 prototype test rocket at 11am on Wednesday.
The Mengzhou vessel separated from the rocket shortly after launch, before splashing down in the ocean at its designated landing spot, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
