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SANY equipment proves reliable in China’s space projects
08/02/2021

The best proof of the rock-solid reliability of SANY’s equipment comes from the moments when it really matters.

The most recent example is the participation of a SANY PK16000 truck-mounted crane in the recovery of the reentry capsule of Chang'e 5, the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program and China's first lunar sample-return mission.

At 1:59 am on December 17, 2020, loaded with rock and dust samples collected from the moon, the capsule landed successfully on the grasslands in inner Mongolia, northern China.

On site, a SANY PK16000 crane undertook the hoisting of the capsule. Under extremely harsh working conditions caused by severe cold and thick snow, any failure during the operation would have resulted in irretrievable loss.  

Everyone who was watching the live news at that moment saw the iconic high-strength steel jib of the PK16000 steadily lift the reentry capsule and hand it over to the transfer helicopter standing by, successfully concluding a course of precise operations.  

SANY’s PK16000 truck-mounted crane has served the country’s space industry for 17 years. A more astonishing fact is that it is exactly the same unit that has undertaken all the hoisting and ground transportation tasks in all recovery missions since the very beginning of China’s series of spaceflight projects.

SANY once offered to replace this crane with the latest updated model, but the proposal was rejected since the China National Space Administration didn’t feel the need to retire a machine in which they have absolute confidence and trust.     

From the Shenzhou V Spacecraft and the Shenzhou XI manned spacecraft to today’s Chang’e 5 mission, this truck-mounted crane has witnessed the development of China’s space cause and is also evidence of the superior reliability of SANY products.  

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