Abstract: The Long March 5 (LM-5) launch vehicle is China’s new generation heavy-lift rocket with the largest payload capacity, representing the highest standard of China’s current launchers. It took 10 years to develop the LM-5 launch vehicle. On November 3, 2016, the LM-5 carrier rocket blasted off from the Wenchang satellite launch center on Hainan Island, achieving a successful maiden flight. During the development of the LM-5 rocket, the engineering team accumulated abundant experience on developing heavy-lift cryogenic rockets and established a thorough research and development system for new generation launch vehicles, which significantly raised the ability for launcher R&D.

Key words: Launch vehicle, Long March 5, Key technology