China to launch 2nd heavy-lift carrier rocket Sunday

WENCHANG, Hainan -- China is scheduled to launch the Long March-5 Y2, the country's second heavy-lift carrier rocket, from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan Province Sunday, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence said Saturday.

Propellant for the rocket, which will send the Shijian-18 communication satellite into orbit, began to be pumped in on Saturday afternoon, it said.

After arriving at the launch base in early May, the rocket has been assembled and testing there. The Long March-5 made its maiden flight in November 2016 in Wenchang.