BLASTING INTO THE FUTURE

As it recovers from the novel coronavirus outbreak, China got a welcome boost from its space industry last week. The Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket made a smooth maiden launch at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on May 5. The reentry module of the prototype of the country's new-generation manned spacecraft, which was lifted into a low-Earth orbit on the rocket, returned to Earth on Friday.