Long March 3B

	The launch of a Long March 3B carrier rocket at Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	CALT
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	3B: 54.8 m (180 ft); 3B/E: 56.3 m (185 ft);
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Mass	3B: 425,800 kg (938,700 lb); 3B/E: 458,970 kg (1,011,860 lb);
Stages	3 / 4
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	11,500 kg (25,400 lb)
Payload to SSO
Mass	5,700 kg (12,600 lb)
Payload to GTO
Mass	3B: 5,100 kg (11,200 lb); 3B/E: 5,500 kg (12,100 lb);
Payload to GEO
Mass	2,000 kg (4,400 lb)
Payload to HCO
Mass	3,300 kg (7,300 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Derivative work	Long March 3C
Comparable	Atlas V; Delta IV; Falcon 9; GSLV Mk III; H-IIA; Zenit-3F;
Launch history
Status	3B: Retired; 3B/E: Active;
Launch sites	Xichang LC-2, LC-3
Total launches	42 3B: 12; 3B/E: 30; ;
Success(es)	39 3B: 10; 3B/E: 29; ;
Failure(s)	1 (3B, Intelsat 708)
Partial failure(s)	2; 3B: 1 (Palapa-D); 3B/E: 1 (Chinasat 9A);
First flight	3B: 14 February 1996 (Intelsat 708); 3B/E: 13 May 2007 (NigComSat-1);
Last flight	3B: 18 September 2012 (Compass M5, M6); 3B/E: 10 December 2017 (Alcomsat-1）;
Boosters (3B)
No. boosters	4
Height	15.33 m (50.3 ft)
Diameter	2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Propellant mass	37,700 kg (83,100 lb)
Powered by	1 × YF-25
Maximum thrust	740.4 kN (166,400 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.2 m/s (260.66 s)
Burn time	127 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Boosters (3B/E)
No. boosters	4
Height	16.1 m (53 ft)
Diameter	2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Propellant mass	41,100 kg (90,600 lb)
Powered by	1 × YF-25
Maximum thrust	740.4 kN (166,400 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.2 m/s (260.66 s)
Burn time	140 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
First stage (3B)
Height	23.27 m (76.3 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Propellant mass	171,800 kg (378,800 lb)
Powered by	4 × YF-21C
Maximum thrust	2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.5 m/s (260.69 s)
Burn time	145 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
First stage (3B/E)
Height	24.76 m (81.2 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Propellant mass	186,200 kg (410,500 lb)
Powered by	4 × YF-21C
Maximum thrust	2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.5 m/s (260.69 s)
Burn time	158 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Second stage
Height	12.92 m (42.4 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Propellant mass	49,400 kg (108,900 lb)
Powered by	1 × YF-24E YF-22E (Main); YF-23F (Vernier); ;
Maximum thrust	742 kN (167,000 lbf) (Main); 47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier);
Specific impulse	2,922.57 m/s (298.019 s) (Main); 2,910.5 m/s (296.79 s) (Vernier);
Burn time	185 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Third stage
Height	12.38 m (40.6 ft)
Diameter	3.0 m (9.8 ft)
Propellant mass	18,200 kg (40,100 lb)
Powered by	1 × YF-75
Maximum thrust	167.17 kN (37,580 lbf)
Specific impulse	4,295 m/s (438.0 s)
Burn time	478 s
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
Fourth stage (optional) – YZ-1
Propellant mass	18,200 kg (40,100 lb)
Powered by	1 × YF-50D
Maximum thrust	6.5 kN (1,500 lbf)
Specific impulse	315.5 s (3.094 km/s)
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Long March 3B (Chinese: 长征三号乙火箭, Chang Zheng 3B), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocket with four strap-on liquid rocket boosters, it is currently the most powerful member of the Long March rocket family and the heaviest of the Long March 3 rocket family, and is mainly used to place communications satellites into geosynchronous orbits.

An enhanced version, the Long March 3B/E or G2, was introduced in 2007 to increase the rocket's GTO cargo capacity and lift heavier GEO communications satellites. The Long March 3B also served as the basis for the medium-capacity Long March 3C, which was first launched in 2008.

As of June 2017^[update], the Long March 3B and 3B/E have conducted 37 successful launches, plus one failure and two partial failures, giving them a success rate of 92.5%.

History

Diagram of the Long March 3B, showing its outboard liquid rocket boosters.

The development of the Long March 3B began in 1986 to meet the needs of the international GEO communications satellite market. During its maiden flight on 14 February 1996 carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite, the rocket suffered a guidance failure two seconds into the flight and destroyed a nearby town, killing at least six people,^[5] but outside estimates suggest that anywhere between 200 and 500 people might have been killed.^[6] However, the author of the report^[6] later ruled out large casualties, because evidence suggest that the crash site was evacuated before the launch.^[7]

The Long March 3B and 3B/E rockets conducted ten successful launches between 1997 and 2008.^[2]

In 1997, the Agila 2 satellite was forced to use onboard propellant to reach its correct orbit because of poor injection accuracy on the part of its Long March 3B launch vehicle.^[8] In 2009, a Long March 3B partially failed during launch due to a third stage anomaly, which resulted in the Palapa-D satellite reaching a lower orbit than planned.^[9] Nonetheless, the satellite was able to maneuver itself into the planned orbit. The Long March 3B and its variants remain in active use as of January 2014^[update], having conducted a total of 23 consecutive successful launches.

In December 2013, a Long March 3B/E successfully lifted Chang'e 3, China's first Lunar lander and rover into the projected lunar-transfer orbit.

Design and variants

The Long March 3B is based on the Long March 3A as its core stage, with four liquid boosters strapped on the first stage. It has an LEO cargo capacity of 12,000 kilograms (26,000 lb) and a GTO capacity is 5,100 kilograms (11,200 lb).

Long March 3B/E

The Long March 3B/E, also known as 3B/G2, is an enhanced variant of the Long March 3B, featuring an enlarged first stage and boosters, increasing its GTO payload capacity to 5,500 kilograms (12,100 lb).^[10] Its maiden flight took place on 13 May 2007, when it successfully launched Nigeria's NigComSat-1, the first African geosynchronous communications satellite. In 2013, it successfully launched China's first lunar lander Chang'e 3 and lunar rover Yutu.

Since 2015, the Long March 3B and 3C can optionally accommodate a YZ-1 upper stage, which has been used to carry dual launches or BeiDou navigation satellites into medium-Earth orbit.

Long March 3C

A modified version of the Long March 3B, the Long March 3C, was developed in the mid-1990s to bridge the gap in payload capacity between the Long March 3B and 3A. It is almost identical to the Long March 3B, but has two boosters instead of four, giving it a reduced GTO payload capacity of 3,800 kilograms (8,400 lb). Its maiden launch took place on 25 April 2008.

List of Launches

Flight number	Date (UTC)	Launch site	Version	Payload	Orbit	Result
1	February 14, 1996 19:01	LA-2, XSLC	3B	Intelsat 708	GTO	Failure
2	August 19, 1997 17:50	LA-2, XSLC	3B	Agila-2	GTO	Success
3	October 16, 1997 19:13	LA-2, XSLC	3B	APStar 2R	GTO	Success
4	May 30, 1998 10:00	LA-2, XSLC	3B	Chinastar 1	GTO	Success
5	July 18, 1998 09:20	LA-2, XSLC	3B	SinoSat 1	GTO	Success
6	April 12, 2005 12:00	LA-2, XSLC	3B	APStar 6	GTO	Success
7	October 28, 2006 16:20	LA-2, XSLC	3B	SinoSat 2	GTO	Success
8	May 13, 2007 16:01	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	NigComSat-1	GTO	Success
9	July 5, 2007 12:08	LA-2, XSLC	3B	ChinaSat 6B	GTO	Success
10	June 9, 2008 12:15	LA-2, XSLC	3B	ChinaSat 9	GTO	Success
11	October 29, 2008 16:53	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Venesat-1	GTO	Success
12	August 31, 2009 09:28	LA-2, XSLC	3B	Palapa-D	GTO	Partial Failure
13	September 4, 2010 16:14	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	SinoSat 6	GTO	Success
14	June 20, 2011 16:13	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 10	GTO	Success
15	August 11, 2011 16:15	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Paksat-1R	GTO	Success
16	September 18, 2011 16:33	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 1A	GTO	Success
17	October 7, 2011 08:21	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Eutelsat W3C	GTO	Success
18	December 19, 2011 16:41	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	NigComSat-1R	GTO	Success
19	March 31, 2012 10:27	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	APStar 7	GTO	Success
20	April 29, 2012 20:50	LA-2, XSLC	3B	Compass-M3 Compass-M4	MTO	Success
21	May 26, 2012 15:56	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 2A	GTO	Success
22	September 18, 2012 19:10	LA-2, XSLC	3B	Compass-M5 Compass-M6	MTO	Success
23	November 27, 2012 10:13	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 12	GTO	Success
24	May 1, 2013 16:06	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 11	GTO	Success
25	December 1, 2013 17:30	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Chang'e 3	LTO	Success
26	December 20, 2013 16:42	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Túpac Katari 1	GTO	Success
27	July 25, 2015 12:29	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E + YZ-1	BDS M1-S BDS M2-S	MEO	Success
28	September 12, 2015 15:42	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	TJS-1	GTO	Success
29	September 29, 2015 23:13	LA-3, XSLC	3B/E	BDS I2-S	GTO	Success
30	October 16, 2015 16:16	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	APStar 9	GTO	Success
31	November 3, 2015 16:25	LA-3, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 2C	GTO	Success
32	November 20, 2015 16:07	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	LaoSat-1	GTO	Success
33	December 9, 2015 16:46	LA-3, XSLC	3B/E	ChinaSat 1C	GTO	Success
34	December 28, 2015 16:04	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Gaofen 4	GTO	Success
35	January 15, 2016 16:57	LA-3, XSLC	3B/E	Belintersat-1	GTO	Success
36	August 5, 2016 16:22	LA-3, XSLC	3B/E	Tiantong-1-01	GTO	Success
37	December 10, 2016 16:11	LA-3, XSLC	3B/E	Fengyun-4A	GTO	Success
38	January 5, 2017 15:18	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	TJS-2	GTO	Success
39	April 12, 2017 11:04	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Shijian 13	GTO	Success
40	June 19, 2017 16:11	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Chinasat 9A	GTO	Partial Failure
41	November 5, 2017 11:45	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E + YZ-1	BDS 3-M1 BDS 3-M2	MEO	Success
42	December 10, 2017 16:40	LA-2, XSLC	3B/E	Alcomsat-1	GTO	Success

Launch failures

Intelsat 708 launch failure

On February 14, 1996, the launch of the first Long March 3B with Intelsat 708 failed just after liftoff when the launch vehicle veered off course and exploded when it hit the ground at T+23 seconds. At least 6 people on the ground were killed by the explosion.^[11] The cause of the accident was traced to short-circuiting of the vehicle's guidance platform at liftoff.^{[citation needed]}

The participation of Space Systems/Loral in the accident investigation caused great political controversy in the United States, since information provided during the accident investigation would help China improve its rockets and ballistic missiles. The U.S. Congress reclassified satellite technology as a munition and placed it back under the restrictive International Traffic in Arms Regulations in 1998.^[12] No license to launch U.S. spacecraft on Chinese rocket has been approved by the U.S. State Department since then, and an official at the Bureau of Industry and Security emphasized in 2016 that "no U.S.-origin content, regardless of significance, regardless of whether it’s incorporated into a foreign-made item, can go to China."^[13]

Palapa-D partial launch failure

On August 31, 2009, during the launch of Palapa-D, the third stage engine under-performed and placed the satellite into a lower than planned orbit. The satellite was able to make up the performance shortfall using its own engine and reach geosynchronous orbit, but with its lifetime shortened to 10.5 years. Investigation found that the engine's gas generator suffered a burn-through due to ice blockage in the engine's liquid-hydrogen injectors.^[14]

ChinaSat-9A partial launch failure

On June 19th, 2017,a Long March 3B/E mission carrying ChinaSat-9A ended in partial failure. Officials refused to release details regarding the status of the mission until about 13 hours after liftoff. Officials then confirmed that the mission had been anomalous and that an anomaly had been detected in the performance of the vehicle's upper stage due to which the intended orbit had not been attained, while analyzing the vehicle's telemetry. Investigation found a failure in third stages Rolling Control Thruster during the glide phase left payload in a lower than intended orbit, the payload spent two weeks reaching its intended orbit under its own power.^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Mark Wade. "CZ-3B". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "LM-3B". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "LM-3A Series Launch Vehicle User's Manual - Issue 2011" (PDF). China Great Wall Industries Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2015-08-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Gunter Krebs. "CZ-3B (Chang Zheng-3B)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
^ Select Committee of the United States House of Representatives (3 January 1999). "Satellite Launches in the PRC: Loral". U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 23 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ ^a ^b Lan, Chen. "Mist around the CZ-3B disaster". The Space Review. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
^ Lan, Chen. "Mist around the CZ-3B disaster (part 2)". The Space Review. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ International reference guide to space launch systems. Fourth edition. p. 243. ISBN 1-56347-591-X.
^ ""帕拉帕－Ｄ"通信卫星未能进入预定轨道". Xinhua. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ "LM-3B". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
^ Lan, Chen. "Mist around the CZ-3B disaster, part 1". The Space Review. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
^ Zelnio, Ryan (January 9, 2006). "A short history of export control policy". The Space Review.
^ de Selding, Peter B. (April 14, 2016). "U.S. ITAR satellite export regime's effects still strong in Europe". SpaceNews.
^ de Selding, Peter B. (19 November 2009). "Burn-through Blamed in China Long March Mishap". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
^ http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinese_satellite_Zhongxing_9A_enters_preset_orbit_999.html

External links

LM-3B User's Manual at GlobalSecurity.org
Long March-3B (LM-3B) at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology

[EA-1] Mark Wade. "CZ-3B". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[cgwic.com-2] "LM-3B". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 23 May 2012.

[CGWIC_User_Manual-3] "LM-3A Series Launch Vehicle User's Manual - Issue 2011" (PDF). China Great Wall Industries Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2015-08-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[GSP-4] Gunter Krebs. "CZ-3B (Chang Zheng-3B)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 26 April 2008.

[5] Select Committee of the United States House of Representatives (3 January 1999). "Satellite Launches in the PRC: Loral". U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 23 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[ChenLan-6] Lan, Chen. "Mist around the CZ-3B disaster". The Space Review. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

[ChenLan2-7] Lan, Chen. "Mist around the CZ-3B disaster (part 2)". The Space Review. Retrieved 29 October 2014.

[8] International reference guide to space launch systems. Fourth edition. p. 243. ISBN 1-56347-591-X.

[9] ""帕拉帕－Ｄ"通信卫星未能进入预定轨道". Xinhua. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

[10] "LM-3B". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

[ChenLan1-11] Lan, Chen. "Mist around the CZ-3B disaster, part 1". The Space Review. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

[zenio2006-12] Zelnio, Ryan (January 9, 2006). "A short history of export control policy". The Space Review.

[selding2016-13] Selding, Peter B. (April 14, 2016). "U.S. ITAR satellite export regime's effects still strong in Europe". SpaceNews.

[14] Selding, Peter B. (19 November 2009). "Burn-through Blamed in China Long March Mishap". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 August 2015.

[15] ttp://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinese_satellite_Zhongxing_9A_enters_preset_orbit_999.html

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v t e Long March (rocket family)
Rockets	Feng Bao 1 Long March 1 1D Long March 2 2A 2C 2D 2E 2F Long March 3 3A 3B 3B/E 3C Long March 4 4A 4B 4C Long March 5 5B Long March 6 6A 6C Long March 7 7A Long March 8 Long March 9 Long March 10 Long March 11 Long March 12
Launch sites	Jiuquan Taiyuan Wenchang Commercial Xichang
Manufacturers	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
Designers	Wang Xiji
List of Long March launches

v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica-1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega original C Vulcan Centaur Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Ariane 6 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
China National Space Administration Chinese space program
Missions	Chang'e 1 (Oct 2007) Chang'e 2 (Oct 2010) Chang'e 3 (Dec 2013) Yutu rover Chang'e 5-T1 (Oct 2014) Queqiao (relay satellite, May 2018) Chang'e 4 (Dec 2018) Yutu-2 rover Chang'e 5 (Nov 2020) Queqiao 2 (relay satellite, Mar 2024) Tiandu 1 and 2 Chang'e 6 (May 2024) Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028)
Launch vehicles	Long March 3A Long March 3B Long March 3C Long March 5 Long March 8
Facilities	Xichang Satellite Launch Center Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
People	Zhang Qingwei Ouyang Ziyuan Ma Xingrui Ye Peijian
Category Commons