China launches new Long March 7 rocket in preparation for planned space station

China's Long March 7 rocket launched successfully for the first time this weekend, the second in a trio of new boosters the country will use to launch and supply its planned Tiangong-3 space station. The 53-meter-tall Long March 7 carried a number of small satellites into orbit as well as a subscale, dummy version of China's next-generation crew capsule. The rocket is the middle child in the country's new family of launchers, sitting between the heavier Long March 5 and lighter Long March 6.

The launch marks a number of small but signifiant milestones for China's space program. It's the most powerful rocket ever built in the country, notes SpaceFlightNow, and is capable of lifting 30,000 pounds into orbit. (Although this record will be...