Long March 3A
The Long March 3A (Chinese: 长征三号甲火箭), also known as the Chang Zheng 3A, CZ-3A and LM-3A, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. It is a 3-stage rocket, and is usually used to place communications satellites and Beidou navigation satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits.
Long March 3A launch | |
Function | Carrier rocket |
---|---|
Manufacturer | CALT |
Country of origin | China |
Cost per launch | US$70 million |
Size | |
Height | 52.52 metres (172.3 ft)[1] |
Diameter | 3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[1] |
Mass | 241,000 kilograms (531,000 lb)[1] |
Stages | 3 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | 8,500 kilograms (18,700 lb)[2][3] |
Payload to GTO | 2,600 kilograms (5,700 lb)[4][2] |
Payload to HCO | 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb)[2][3] |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Long March |
Derivatives | Long March 3B Long March 3C |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | LA-2 & LA-3, XSLC |
Total launches | 27[4] |
Successes | 27[4] |
First flight | 8 February 1994[4] |
First stage | |
Length | 23.272 m |
Diameter | 3.35 m |
Propellant mass | 171,800 kg (378,800 lb) |
Engines | 4 YF-21C |
Thrust | 2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 2,556.5 m/s (260.69 s) |
Burn time | 148 s |
Fuel | N2O4 / UDMH |
Second stage | |
Length | 11.276 m |
Diameter | 3.35 m |
Propellant mass | 32,600 kg (71,900 lb) |
Engines | 1 YF-24E (1 x YF-22E (Main)) (4 x YF-23C (Vernier)) |
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 | 115 s |
Fuel | N2O4 / UDMH |
Third stage | |
Length | 12.375 m |
Diameter | 3.0 m |
Propellant mass | 18,200 kg (40,100 lb) |
Engines | 2 YF-75 [5] |
Thrust | 167.17 kN (37,580 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 4,295 m/s (438.0 s) |
Burn time | 475 s |
Fuel | LH2 / LOX |
It has formed the basis of the Long March 3B, which is a heavier version with four liquid booster rockets.
Launches
Long March 3A rockets have been launched from Launch Areas 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
List of launches
Flight number | Date (UTC) | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | February 8, 1994 08:34 |
LA-2, XSLC | Shijian 4 | HEO | Success |
2 | November 29, 1994 17:02 |
LA-2, XSLC | Dong Fang Hong 3 | GTO | Success |
3 | May 11, 1997 16:17 |
LA-2, XSLC | ChinaSat 6 | GTO | Success |
4 | January 25, 2000 16:45 |
LA-2, XSLC | ChinaSat 22 | GTO | Success |
5 | October 30, 2000 16:02 |
LA-2, XSLC | Beidou-1A | GTO | Success |
6 | December 20, 2000 16:20 |
LA-2, XSLC | Beidou-1B | GTO | Success |
7 | May 24, 2003 16:34 |
LA-2, XSLC | Beidou-1C | GTO | Success |
8 | November 14, 2003 16:01 |
LA-2, XSLC | ChinaSat 20 | GTO | Success |
9 | October 19, 2004 01:20 |
LA-2, XSLC | Fengyun 2C | GTO | Success |
10 | September 12, 2006 16:02 |
LA-2, XSLC | ChinaSat 22A | GTO | Success |
11 | December 8, 2006 00:53 |
LA-2, XSLC | Fengyun 2D | GTO | Success |
12 | February 2, 2007 16:28 |
LA-2, XSLC | Beidou-1D | GTO | Success |
13 | April 13, 2007 20:11 |
LA-3, XSLC | Compass-M1 | MEO | Success |
14 | May 31, 2007 16:08 |
LA-3, XSLC | SinoSat 3 | GTO | Success |
15 | October 24, 2007 10:05 |
LA-3, XSLC | Chang'e 1 | LTO | Success |
16 | December 23, 2008 00:54 |
LA-3, XSLC | Fengyun 2E | GTO | Success |
17 | July 31, 2010 21:30 |
LA-3, XSLC | Compass-IGSO1 | GTO | Success |
18 | November 24, 2010 16:09 |
LA-3, XSLC | ChinaSat 20A | GTO | Success |
19 | December 17, 2010 20:20 |
LA-3, XSLC | Compass-IGSO2 | GTO | Success |
20 | April 9, 2011 20:47 |
LA-3, XSLC | Compass-IGSO3 | GTO | Success |
21 | July 26, 2011 21:44 |
LA-3, XSLC | Compass-IGSO4 | GTO | Success |
22 | December 1, 2011 21:07 |
LA-3, XSLC | Compass-IGSO5 | GTO | Success |
23 | January 13, 2012 00:56 |
LA-3, XSLC | Fengyun 2F | GTO | Success |
24 | December 31, 2014 01:02 |
LA-2, XSLC | Fengyun 2G | GTO | Success |
25 | March 29, 2016 20:11 |
LA-2, XSLC | Compass-IGSO6 | GTO | Success |
26 | June 5, 2018 13:07 |
LA-2, XSLC | Fengyun 2H | GTO | Success |
27 | July 9, 2018 20:58 |
LA-2, XSLC | Compass-IGSO7 | GTO | Success |
Technical data
LM-3A is a 3-stage launch vehicle developed on the basis of LM-3 and LM-2C. Its third stage is powered by cryogenic propellants: liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. It is dedicated for launching spacecraft into GTO. Its launch capability for GTO mission is 2,600 kg. The fairing static envelope is 3m in diameter.[4]
References
- Mark Wade. "CZ-3A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- "LM-3A Series Launch Vehicle User's Manual - Issue 2011" (PDF). China Great Wall Industries Corporation. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
- Gunter Krebs. "CZ-3A (Chang Zheng-3A)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- "LM-3A". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- "Long March 3C/E - Rockets". Spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 2016-11-25.