China's taken another leap forward, with the launch of its largest ever rocket, the Long March 5 ("Chang Zheng 5" in Chinese) on November 3.

Built by the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the heavy space launch LM-5 has a thrust of 1060 tons and a massive payload capacity of 25 tons, putting it in the same class as global heavyweights like the American Atlas V, Delta IV Heavy and European Ariane V. The LM-5 carried the experimental Shijian 17 electronic propulsion satellite into geostationary orbit (GEO).

Originally, there would have been six LM-5 variants, but they have been superseded by the Long March 6, which first flew in September 2015, and Long March 7 in June 2016. Together, the Long March 5, 6 and 7 will be the workhorses of the modernized Chinese space launch program.