The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, China's third manned space voyager, will be carried into space by the Long-March II-F rocket Thursday. The following is a brief introduction of the rocket.

The Long-March II-F rocket was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in 1992. It belongs to a family of the Long March launch vehicles developed by China. The country's first man-made satellite, Dongfanghong 1, was carried to the space by a Long-March rocket on April 24, 1970.

The Long March family of rockets suffered several setbacks in the 1990s, but has recorded 108 successful launches since October 1996. The Shenzhou spaceships and Chang'e lunar probe were both launched on the rocket.

The Long-March II-F rocket is 58.3 meters long and weighs about 480 tons. It is installed with three imaging devices. Engineers said a total of 36 technological improvements have been made compared with a previous one to minimize physical discomfort for the astronauts and increase its safety and reliability. Corrective devices were installed to address vibrations encountered at about 110 seconds of the mission reported by astronaut Yang Liwei at the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003.

Most of the active Chinese rockets were designed in the 1980s, and some have grown outdated. The Long-March II-F rocket is scheduled to retire after the Shenzhou-7 mission.

China is developing a new generation of carrier rockets, which operate on non-hazardous propellant, are equipped with more flexible modules and improved compatibility with different types of satellites.

The first rocket in the world was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Besides China, the United States, Europe, Japan, India, Ukraine and Israel are among the list of countries and regions that have the capacity to launch carrier rockets.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2008)