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| 99 || [[Long March 2D|CZ-2D]] || [[25 May]] [[2007]] 15:12 CST || [[Yaogan-II]] || [[Sun synchronous orbit|SSO]] || [[Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center|JSLC]] || Success
| 99 || [[Long March 2D|CZ-2D]] || [[25 May]] [[2007]] 15:12 CST || [[Yaogan-II]] || [[Sun synchronous orbit|SSO]] || [[Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center|JSLC]] || Success
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| 100 || [[Long March 3A|CZ-3A]] || [[1 June]] [[2007]] 00:08 CST || [[SinoSat-3]] || [[Geosynchronous transfer orbit|GTO]] || [[Xichang Satellite Launch Centre|XSLC]] || Sucess
| 100 || [[Long March 3A|CZ-3A]] || [[1 June]] [[2007]] 00:08 CST || [[SinoSat-3]] || [[Geosynchronous transfer orbit|GTO]] || [[Xichang Satellite Launch Centre|XSLC]] || Success
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Revision as of 04:53, 1 June 2007

CZ-2F rocket

The Long March family of rockets (simplified Chinese: 长征系列运载火箭; traditional Chinese: 長征系列運載火箭; pinyin: Chángzhēng xìliè yùnzài huǒjiàn) is an expendable launch system operated by the People's Republic of China. Development and design falls under the auspices of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. The rockets are, confusingly, abbreviated both LM- and CZ- in English.

It is named after the Long March of Chinese communist history. The Shenzhou spacecraft is launched on the Long March rocket. As of 2003, the main stages and the booster rockets of Long March rockets use storable propellants with UDMH as fuel and dinitrogen tetroxide as the oxidizing agent. The upper stages of Long March 3A (CZ-3A) and CZ-3B use cryogenic fuel, Liquid hydrogen (LH2) as fuel and Liquid oxygen (LOX) as oxidizer.

The max payload for LEO is 9200kg(CZ-2F), the max payload for GTO is 5100kg(CZ-3B). LM-5 will offer more payload in future.

The Long March rocket is related to early versions of the Dongfeng missile (note that Dongfeng is the generic Chinese name for all of its land ICBMs). However, like its counterparts in both the United States and in Russia, the differing needs of space rockets and strategic missiles have caused the development of space rockets and missiles to diverge. The main goal of a space rocket is to maximize payload, while for strategic missiles increased throw weight is much less important than the ability to launch quickly and to survive a first strike. This divergence has become clear in the next generation of Long March rockets which use cryogenic propellants in sharp contrast to the next generation of strategic missiles which are mobile and solid fuelled.

The PRC launched its first satellite, known as Dong Fang Hong 1 ("the East is Red"), to Earth orbit on its own Long March space rocket on April 24, 1970, becoming the fifth nation to achieve independent launch capability. Most of the commercial satellite launches of Long March vehicles have been from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, located in Xichang, Sichuan province. Long March launches also take place from the more military oriented Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province from which the manned Shenzhou spacecraft also comes.

Early commercial launches had a spotty record. On January 26, 1995, a Long March 3B rocket veered off course two seconds after take-off from Xichang space center and exploded, killing at least 6 on the ground. On February 14, 1996, a similar failure resulted in an unknown number of casualties [[1]]. The rocket veered severely off course right after clearing the launch tower and landed in a rural village. Following the disaster, foreign media were sequestered in a bunker for five hours while, some have alleged, the Chinese military attempted to 'clean up' the effects. The Chinese Xinhua News Agency eventually reported 57 deaths, but the extent of damage observed by foreign journalists whilst being whisked away from the disaster site suggested there may have been at least 200 and upwards of 500 killed[[2]]. See also Intelsat 708. In the aftermath of the explosion, US satellite makers shared information which allowed the Chinese to determine that the problem was in the welds. However, this sharing of information was later deemed illegal by the United States, and U.S. satellite maker Loral Space and Communications was fined $14 million by the U.S. government in 2002, while admitting no wrong-doing.[1]

Since the improvements made after the 1996 accident, the reliability of the Long March rockets has been excellent, with zero failed launches. On October 15, 2003, the Long March 2F rocket successfully launched the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft/orbiter carrying the China's first astronaut into space, and on October 12, 2005, Shenzhou 6 with two astronauts; China became the third nation to send man into space on its own, after the Soviet Union/Russia and USA.

China markets launch services under the Great Wall Industrial Corporation. Its efforts to launch communications satellites were dealt a blow in the mid-1990s after the United States stopped issuing export licenses to companies to allow them to launch on Chinese launch vehicles out of fear that this would help China's military.


Launch history

No. Booster Date (CST, with daylight saving if applicable) Payload Orbit Launch site Status
1 CZ-1 F-01 24 April 1970 Dong Fang Hong 1 LEO JSLC Success
2 CZ-1 F-02 3 March 1971 SJ-1 LEO JSLC Success
3 CZ-2 F-01 5 November 1974 FSW 0 LEO JSLC Failure
4 CZ-2C F-01 26 November 1975 FSW 0-1 LEO JSLC Success
5 CZ-2C F-02 7 December 1976 FSW 0-2 LEO JSLC Success
6 CZ-2C F-03 26 January 1978 FSW 0-3 LEO JSLC Success
7 CZ-2C F-04 9 September 1982 FSW 0-4 LEO JSLC Success
8 CZ-2C F-05 19 August 1983 FSW 0-5 LEO JSLC Success
9 CZ-3 F-01 29 January 1984 Dong Fang Hong 2 GTO XSLC Failure
10 CZ-3 F-02 8 April 1984 Dong Fang Hong 2 GTO XSLC Success
11 CZ-2C F-06 12 September 1984 FSW 0-6 LEO JSLC Success
12 CZ-2C F-07 21 October 1985 FSW 0-7 LEO JSLC Success
13 CZ-3 F-03 1 February 1986 Dong Fang Hong 2A GTO XSLC Success
14 CZ-2C F-08 6 October 1986 FSW 0-8 LEO JSLC Success
15 CZ-2C F-09 5 August 1987 FSW 0-9 LEO JSLC Success
16 CZ-2C F-10 9 September 1987 FSW 1-1 LEO JSLC Success
17 CZ-3 F-04 7 March 1988 Dong Fang Hong 2A GTO XSLC Success
18 CZ-2C F-11 5 August 1988 FSW 1-2 LEO JSLC Success
19 CZ-4 F-01 7 September 1988 Feng Yun 1 SSO TSLC Success
20 CZ-3 F-05 22 December 1988 Dong Fang Hong 2A GTO XSLC Success
21 CZ-3 F-06 4 February 1990 Dong Fang Hong 2A GTO XSLC Success
22 CZ-3 F-07 7 April 1990 AsiaSat 1 GTO XSLC Success
23 CZ-2E F-01 16 July 1990 Pakistan science satellite LEO XSLC Success
24 CZ-4 F-02 3 September 1990 Feng Yun 1
simulated satellite
SSO TSLC Success
25 CZ-2C F-12 5 October 1990 FSW LEO JSLC Success
26 CZ-3 F-08 28 December 1991 Dong Fang Hong 2A GTO XSLC Failure
27 CZ-2D F-01 9 August 1992 FSW LEO JSLC Success
28 CZ-2E F-02 14 August 1992 Optus B1 GTO XSLC Success
29 CZ-2C F-13 6 October 1992 Swedish Freja satellite
FSW
LEO JSLC Success
30 CZ-2E F-03 21 December 1992 Optus B2 GTO XSLC Failure
31 CZ-2C F-14 8 October 1993 FSW LEO JSLC Success
32 CZ-3A F-01 8 February 1994 SJ-4
simulated satellite
GTO XSLC Success
33 CZ-2D F-02 3 July 1994 FSW LEO JSLC Success
34 CZ-3 F-09 21 July 1994 Apstar-1 GTO XSLC Success
35 CZ-2E F-04 28 August 1994 Optus B3 GTO XSLC Success
36 CZ-3A F-02 30 November 1994 Zhong Xing-5 GTO XSLC Success
37 CZ-2E F-05 26 January 1995 Apstar-2 GTO XSLC Failure - destroyed due to windshear
38 CZ-2E F-06 28 November 1995 AsiaSat 2 GTO XSLC Success
39 CZ-2E F-07 28 December 1995 Echostar 1 GTO XSLC Success
40 CZ-3B F-01 15 February 1996 Intelsat 708 GTO XSLC Failure video
41 CZ-3 F-10 3 July 1996 Apstar-1A GTO XSLC Success
42 CZ-3 F-11 18 August 1996 Zhongxing 7 GTO XSLC Failure
43 CZ-2D F-03 20 October 1996 FSW 2-3 LEO JSLC Success
44 CZ-3A F-03 12 May 1997 Zhongxing-6 GTO XSLC Success
45 CZ-3 F-12 10 June 1997 FY-2A GTO XSLC Success
46 CZ-3B F-02 20 August 1997 Agila-2 GTO XSLC Success
47 CZ-2C F-15 1 September 1997 Iridium LEO TSLC Success
48 CZ-3B F-03 17 October 1997 Apstar-2R GTO XSLC Success
49 CZ-2C F-16 8 December 1997 Iridium 42/44 LEO TSLC Success
50 CZ-2C F-17 26 March 1998 Iridium 51/61 LEO TSLC Success
51 CZ-2C F-18 2 May 1998 Iridium 69/71 LEO TSLC Success
52 CZ-3B F-04 30 May 1998 Zhongwei 1 GTO XSLC Success
53 CZ-3B F-05 18 July 1998 Sinosat-1 GTO XSLC Success
54 CZ-2C F-19 20 August 1998 Iridium 3/76 LEO TSLC Success
55 CZ-2C F-20 19 December 1998 Iridium 11/20 LEO TSLC Success
56 CZ-4 F-03 10 May 1999 FY-1C/SJ-5 SSO TSLC Success
57 CZ-2C F-21 12 June 1999 Iridium 14A/21A LEO TSLC Success
58 CZ-4B F-04 14 October 1999 ZY-1/SACI-1 SSO TSLC Success
59 CZ-2F F-01 20 November 1999 Shenzhou 1 LEO JSLC Success
60 CZ-3A F-04 26 January 2000 "Zhong Xin" ZX-22 GTO XSLC Success
61 CZ-3 F-13 25 June 2000 "FengYun" FY-2 GTO XSLC Success
62 CZ-4B F-05 1 September 2000 ZY-2 SSO TSLC Success
63 CZ-3A F-05 31 October 2000 Beidou 1A GTO XSLC Success
64 CZ-3A F-06 21 December 2000 Beidou 1B GTO XSLC Success
65 CZ-2F F-02 10 January 2001 Shenzhou 2 LEO JSLC Success
66 CZ-2F F-03 25 March 2002 Shenzhou 3 LEO JSLC Success
67 CZ-4B 15 May 2002 Hai Yang 1/Feng Yun 1D SSO TSLC Success
68 CZ-4B 27 October 2002 ZY-2B SSO TSLC Success
69 CZ-2F 30 December 2002 Shenzhou 4 LEO JSLC Success
70 CZ-3A 25 May 2003 Beidou-1C GTO XSLC Success
71 CZ-2F 15 October 2003 Shenzhou 5 LEO JSLC Success
72 CZ-4B 21 October 2003 Chuang Xin 1 - CBERS SSO TSLC Success
73 CZ-3D 3 November 2003 FSW-18 LEO JSLC Success
74 CZ-3A 15 November 2003 "ZhongXing" ZX-20 GTO XSLC Success
75 CZ-2C/SM 30 December 2003 Double Star (TC-1) HEO XSLC Success
76 CZ-2C 18 April 2004 Shiyan SY-1/Naxing NX-1 SSO XSLC Success
77 CZ-2C/SM 25 July 2004 Double Star ("Tan Ce" TC-2) HEO (polar orbit) TSLC Success
78 CZ-2C 29 August 2004 FSW-19 LEO JSLC Success
79 CZ-4B 9 September 2004 "Shijian" SJ-6A/SJ6B SSO TSLC Success
80 CZ-2D 27 September 2004 FSW-20 LEO JSLC Success
81 CZ-3A 19 October 2004 "FengYun" FY-2C GTO XSLC Success
82 CZ-4B 6 November 2004 ZY-2 SSO TSLC Success
83 CZ-2C 18 November 2004 "Shiyan" SY-2 SSO XSLC Success
84 CZ-3B 12 April 2005 Apstar-6 GTO XSLC Success
85 CZ-2D 6 July 2005 SJ-7 SSO JSLC Success
86 CZ-2C 2 August 2005 FSW-21 LEO JSLC Success
87 CZ-2D 29 August 2005 FSW-22 LEO JSLC Success
88 CZ-2F 12 October 2005 Shenzhou 6 LEO JSLC Success
89 CZ-4B 27 April 2006 Yaogan 1 SSO TSLC Success
90 CZ-2C 9 September 2006 SJ-8 LEO JSLC Success
91 CZ-3A 13 September 2006 ZX-22A GTO XSLC Success
92 CZ-4B 24 October 2006 Two Shijian 6 space experiment satellites A/B LEO TSLC Success
93 CZ-3B 29 October 2006 00:20 CST Sinosat 2 GTO XSLC Success (satellite failure)
94 CZ-3A 8 December 2006 08:53 CST Fengyun 2D GTO XSLC Success
95 CZ-3A 3 February 2007 00:28 CST Beidou GTO XSLC Success
96 CZ-2C 11 April 2007 11:27 CST HY-1B SSO TSLC Success
97 CZ-3A 14 April 2007 04:11 CST Beidou MEO XSLC Success
98 CZ-3B 13 May 2007 00:01 CST NigComSat-1 GTO XSLC Success
99 CZ-2D 25 May 2007 15:12 CST Yaogan-II SSO JSLC Success
100 CZ-3A 1 June 2007 00:08 CST SinoSat-3 GTO XSLC Success

Record of launches by year

Year Launch Cumulative Success Cumulative
1970 1 1 1 1
1971 1 2 1 2
1972 0 2 0 2
1973 0 2 0 2
1974 1 3 0 2
1975 1 4 1 3
1976 1 5 1 4
1977 0 5 0 4
1978 1 6 1 5
1979 0 6 0 5
1980 0 6 0 5
1981 0 6 0 5
1982 1 7 1 6
1983 1 8 1 7
1984 3 11 2 9
1985 1 12 1 10
1986 2 14 2 12
1987 2 16 2 14
1988 4 20 4 18
1989 0 20 0 18
1990 5 25 5 23
1991 1 26 0 23
1992 4 30 3 26
1993 1 31 1 27
1994 5 36 5 32
1995 3 39 2 34
1996 4 43 2 36
1997 6 49 6 42
1998 6 55 6 48
1999 4 59 4 52
2000 5 64 5 57
2001 1 65 1 58
2002 4 69 4 62
2003 6 75 6 68
2004 8 83 8 76
2005 5 88 5 81
2006 6 94 6 87
2007 5 99 5 92

See also

References

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