6 | Thursday, March 28, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA In Wuhan, cherry blossoms at center stage Major test of By CHENG SI in Beijing and LIU KUN in Wuhan Wuhan University in Hubei pro­ vince attracts crowds of people not crucial rocket only for its academic achievements but for its cherry blossoms in spring. The university has been offering free reservations for cherry blos­ parts finished som watchers to visit the campus since last week, allowing 15,000 vis­ itors Monday through Friday and 30,000 on weekends, the universi­ Muscular engine expected to play a ty’s website said. central role in future moon missions This year, 5G technology was introduced for the first time on Sunday by the Hubei branch of Chi­ By ZHAO LEI space endeavors, such as a na Mobile to broadcast the campus [email protected] manned lunar mission, according scenery. to China Aerospace Science and Wang Zheng, publicity depart­ Chinese engineers have success­ Technology Corp. ment director at the branch office, fully tested components of what is Liu Zhirang, president of the said the limited reservation quota expected to be the nation’s largest academy in Xi’an, said that the doesn’t satisfy public demand, so and mightiest rocket engine, new engine will consume much the live broadcasts allow more according to China Aerospace Sci­ more propellant than its predeces­ people to view the beautiful blos­ ence and Technology Corp, the sors and work under higher pres­ soms. country’s leading space contrac­ sures and temperatures. He said the broadcast was tor. “So the materials to build it will viewed by tens of thousands of peo­ The State­owned space con­ be much stronger than those used ple in an hour and a half. glomerate said in a statement on in existing engines,” he said. “In “The cherry trees have a very Tuesday that engineers had car­ addition, the engine will employ short flowering season, making ried out a compatibility test on the newly developed advanced cooling people more eager to see them in turbopump and gas generator of devices. All of these will require full bloom,” he said. “Also, Wuhan the engine — which will deliver state­of­the­art structural designs University itself is a tourist attrac­ 500 metric tons of thrust using a and outstanding welding tech­ tion known for its palatial build­ combination of liquid oxygen and niques.” ings. Cherry blossoms increase the Tourists flock to Wuhan University in Hubei province to enjoy the cherry blossoms. kerosene — on Sunday at a testing He said that in addition to the attractiveness of the campus.” MIAO JIAN / FOR CHINA DAILY facility in Baolongyu area of Xi’an, 500­ton­thrust type, the Long However, some improper activi­ Shaanxi province. March 9 will also use two new ties, such as shaking the trees and The test verified designs of the engine models, one with 200 tons ticket scalping, have not been erad­ but tried to force his way in anyway, them from damaging the trees. According to the reservation turbopump and gas generator and of thrust and one with 25 tons. icated, even though strong over­ and a physical altercation with the Yuan Liao, a 26­year­old from instructions on the university’s paved the way for the engine’s According to Li Hong, deputy sight has been imposed by the guards ensued. Changsha, Hunan province, who website, visitors should reserve overall testing, the statement said, general manager at China Aero­ university. The university said the two plans to visit the campus this week­ three days ahead. Three people explaining that a turbopump is a space Science and Technology On Sunday afternoon, a male vis­ guards involved had been repri­ end, said he understands the uni­ are allowed entry for each reser­ core part of a rocket engine. Corp, the Long March 9 will be itor dressed in a kimono­like outfit manded and that the civilized versity’s management approach. vation. “Considering its sophisticated capable of lifting a 140­ton pay­ that he said was traditional Chi­ enforcement of campus rules “Making a reservation before­ Reservations will close on April structure and the extreme condi­ load into a low­Earth orbit or a nese, along with his friend, were would be enhanced. hand can help the university better 3. Visitors can see the cherry blos­ tions under which it works, the 50­ton spacecraft into a lunar reportedly attacked by guards It also released a visual special­ organize the campus and secure a soms from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm on research and development of the transfer orbit. It will also be able to when trying to get into the campus. effects filter for mobile devices imi­ safer experience for visitors,” he weekdays and 8 am to 6 pm on turbopump is the most important ferry 44 tons to a Mars transfer The university said late Monday tating the falling of blossoms via said. “It’s also an effective way to weekends. part of a rocket engine project. orbit. that one of the two visitors, sur­ TikTok, a video­sharing platform control visitor numbers and offers Therefore the successful test rep­ The gigantic rocket’s carrying named Zhang, didn’t make a reser­ (known as Douyin in China), to visitors a better view of the blos­ Contact the writers at resents a major milestone,” it read. capacity is more than five times vation on the university’s platform help satisfy visitors and prevent soms.” [email protected] Meanwhile, the gas generator is that of the Long March 5, which is like a miniature rocket engine now the most powerful and tallest inside a larger one and is tasked in China’s carrier rocket family, he Recovered from the past with igniting the whole engine, said, noting that the new model experts said. will have a length of nearly 100 Chinese authority stops The engine, which is under meters and a diameter of 9.5 m. development at the Academy of If the research and development Aerospace Propulsion Technology proceeds well, the Long March 9 certifying airworthiness in Xi’an, will be the biggest and will carry out its first flight around most powerful of its kind in China. 2030. It will enable China to send It will be used on the Long March 9 manned missions to the moon and of Boeing 737 MAX 8s super­heavy carrier rocket, which to conduct other deep­space explo­ will be key to the country’s future rations, Li said. By WANG KEJU [email protected] Private launch firm: ‘We China’s civil aviation regulator With China has temporarily stopped issuing suspending the airworthiness certificates for Boe­ will never flinch or quit’ ing 737 Max 8s because of safety airworthiness concerns, a move an expert said certificate for the will bring huge economic losses to Officers from the Beijing Customs Administration hand some of the By ZHAO LEI Boeing. Boeing 737 MAX 8, 76 fossils and other objects they confiscated to a representative of in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Two Boeing 737 MAX 8s have domestic airlines are the Beijing Museum of Natural History on Wednesday. crashed in the last five months. All WANG JING / CHINA DAILY China’s private rocket launch Explorations in 157 passengers and crew members unable to purchase sector has been striving to expand science and of a 737 MAX 8 operated by Ethio­ this model.” its presence in the nation’s bur­ pian Airlines died on Mar 10, geoning commercial space market technology have including eight Chinese nationals. Li Xiaojin, a professor of avia­ despite recent setbacks. successes and In October, the same model of tion economics at Civil Avia­ Shu Chang, CEO of OneSpace tion University in Tianjin failures.” plane, operated by Lion Air, went Dinosaur­era bird fossil Technology, a space­focused start­ down over the Java Sea, killing 189. up based in Beijing, said his com­ Shu Chang, CEO of OneSpace “Considering that the aircraft pany is determined to continue Technology faces uncertainties in its airworthi­ other, they have some degree of found with unlaid egg with its research and development ness, after looking into the matter, similarity,” the administration said of carrier rockets and will also con­ According to OneSpace, the the administration decided to sus­ in its statement. The administra­ A group of scientists in Gansu This abnormality has also been doc­ tinue fulfilling launch schedules OS­M is a series of solid­propellant pend Boeing 737 MAX 8 airworthi­ tion grounded all Chinese Boeing province have discovered a fossil­ umented in sauropod dinosaurs, this year. rockets with four stages. The one ness certifications immediately,” 737 MAX 8 jets on March 11. ized bird dating back about 110 mil­ and in fossil and living turtles. OneSpace encountered a major fired on Wednesday was the first the Civil Aviation Administration of “With China suspending the air­ lion years and the first ever to have In addition, the eggshell was setback on Wednesday as the com­ type in the series. It was 19 meters China said in a statement unveiled worthiness certificate for the Boe­ an unlaid egg in its abdomen. extremely thin, thinner than a sheet pany’s first attempt to launch a carri­ long, had a diameter of 1.2 m and on Tuesday, adding that the ongo­ ing 737 MAX 8, domestic airlines The fossil represents a new spe­ of paper, and did not have the pro­ er rocket for an orbital mission failed weighed 21 metric tons when load­ ing investigation had not ruled out are unable to purchase this model,” cies, Avimaia schweitzerae, belong­ portions of a healthy egg, Bailleul because of technical problems.