Long March 5

The Long March 5 (Chàng Zhēng 5 or 长征5日) was the first launch vehicle used to lift Bountiful Sky assets into low earth orbit after the Bullet launches.

Configuration
The most used and best known configration of this versatile booster was designated CZ-NGLV-504, where


 * CZ (Long March): booster family


 * NGLV: Next Generation Launch Vehicle
 * 504: Booster core type (5), Upper stage (none), Strap-on boosters (4)

Design Lineage
The Long March 5 boosters descend from the Long March family of boosters, China's primary satellite delivery system since the early 1980s, and themselves derived from the East Wind family of ICBMs originating in 1955. Though derived from these previous models, Long March 5 ushered in many improvements over previous systems, including recoverable, reusable strap-on boosters and restartable engines. These improvements were essential to the booster's usefulness for the Bountiful Sky program.

History
Long March 5 boosters were the primary launch system delivering people and supplies to the Bountiful Sky Project until they were largely replaced by the Black Tortoise heavy lift launch vehicle.

Even after they were no longer the primary vehicle, they still saw occasional use for high-priority cargoes that could not wait for the next Black Tortoise launch.

Many of the Long March 5 main stages, refurbished as inter-orbit transports, continued to serve well into the Respite and Retreat periods. Some score of these transports were taken on the Climb and served as scout, survey, and light transport vehicles after Arrival.

Vital Statistics

 * Height: 55.00 m (180.00 ft)
 * Diameter: 5.00 m (16.40 ft)
 * Span: 13.00 m (42.00 ft)
 * Thrust: 10,640.00 kN (2,391,960 lbf)
 * Apogee: 200 km (120 mi)
 * Inclination: 52.00 degrees
 * Gross mass: 800,000 kg (1,760,000 lb)
 * Payload: 25,000 kg (55,000 lb)
 * Max. Passenger Complement: 70