China says it fired up the world’s largest single-segment solid-fuel rocket engine for the first time, at a ground testing facility in the country’s northwest on Tuesday.
The rocket’s 3.5-metre (11.5-foot) wide engine can generate 500 tonnes of thrust, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). That is more than four times as powerful as the liquid fuel engine on the Long March 5, the largest launch vehicle in China’s space programme at present.
With its high mobility and near-instant launch capability, solid-fuel rockets are mainly used to deliver missiles or on other military platforms.
Read More at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3152920/china-test-fires-worlds-largest-most-hi-tech-solid-fuel-rocket