Footage of China's "next-generation" carrier rocket blasting off from its brand new space port in Wenchang.

The video shows the transport vehicle, which will become the main carrier for China's future space missions, taking off on Saturday.

It can carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low-Earth orbit - a payload one and a half times greater than those of China's existing rockets.

"The more our rockets can lift, the farther we can venture into space," Ma Zhonghui, the rocket's chief designer reportedly told the official Xinhua news agency.

"Long March-7's successful maiden flight will greatly lift up China's comprehensive space capacity, and give the country a hefty boost in building itself into a space power," he added.

Its re-entry module is scheduled to return to Earth at a desert in Inner Mongolia Sunday afternoon after orbiting the planet 13 times.

China blasted off its Long March-7 new generation carrier rocket on a successful inaugural voyage on Saturday from a new launch centre, state media reported, as the country races ahead with an ambitious space programme.

The medium-sized, two-stage rocket is expected to become the main carrier for China's future space missions.

It can carry up to 13.5 tonnes to low-Earth orbit - a payload one and a half times greater than those of China's existing rockets.


"The more our rockets can lift, the farther we can venture into space," Ma Zhonghui, the rocket's chief designer told the official Xinhua news agency.

"Long March-7's successful maiden flight will greatly lift up China's comprehensive space capacity, and give the country a hefty boost in building itself into a space power," he added.

Its re-entry module is scheduled to return to Earth at a desert in Inner Mongolia Sunday afternoon after orbiting the planet 13 times.

The launch was the first to be held at a new space launch centre in Wenchang, a city in the southern province of Hainan.