[July 29, CMSE News] China on Sunday successfully conducted tests on its new 120-tonne-thrust liquid oxygen (LOX) and kerosene engine for its new generation carrier rocket, the Long March-5, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

　　The test was conducted in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi province.

　　The LOX/kerosene engine underwent a test of a high rotational speed of nearly 20,000 revolutions per minute and a high temperature test of 3,000 degrees Celsius that lasted for 200 seconds.

　　The high-performance engine, which is the first kind of high-pressure staged combustion cycle engine for which China has proprietary intellectual property rights, is non-toxic, pollution-free and highly reliable.

　　The engine is much more powerful than the 75-tonne-thrust engines of the launch vehicles used in the already-launched Shenzhou spacecraft.

　　It also makes China the second country in the world, after Russia, to grasp the core technologies for an LOX/kerosene high-pressure staged combustion cycle rocket engine.

　　The large-thrust carrier rocket under development, the Long March-5, is hoped to make its maiden voyage in 2014. Ahead of that, several limit-determining tests will be conducted to ensure the engine's stability and reliability.