Long March 6
The Long March 6 (Chinese: 长征六号运载火箭) or Chang Zheng 6 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM-6 for export or CZ-6 within China, is a Chinese liquid-fuelled carrier rocket of the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation[7] and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. The rocket was developed in the 2000s, and made its maiden flight in 2015.[8] As one of the new generation rocket family, the Long March 6 was designed to be a light capacity, "high-speed response" rocket, complementing the heavy lift Long March 5 and the mid-heavy lift Long March 7 rocket families. It is capable of placing at least 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of payload into a sun-synchronous orbit.[9][8] The first stage of the Long March 6 was derived from the booster rockets being developed for the Long March 5 rocket. It is powered by a YF-100 engine, which generates 1,340 kilonewtons or 300,000 pounds-force of thrust from burning kerosene and LOX as rocket fuel and oxidiser.[8] This was the first flight of the new engine design.[3]
Maiden flight of Long March 6 rocket | |
Function | Small carrier rocket |
---|---|
Manufacturer | SAST[1] |
Country of origin | China |
Size | |
Height | 29 m (95 ft) |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Mass | 103,000 kg (227,000 lb) |
Stages | 3[2] |
Capacity | |
Payload to 700 km (430 mi) SSO | 1,080 kilograms (2,380 lb) |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Long March Long March 6 |
Comparable | Minotaur-C, PSLV-CA |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | LA-16, TSLC |
Total launches | 3 |
Successes | 3 |
First flight | 19 September 2015[3] |
First stage | |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Propellant mass | 61,000 kg (134,000 lb) to 76,000 kg (168,000 lb) |
Engines | 1 YF-100 |
Thrust | 1,188 kN (267,000 lbf)[4] |
Specific impulse | 300 sec (SL); 335 sec (Vac)[5] |
Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
Second stage | |
Diameter | 2.25 m (7.4 ft) |
Propellant mass | 15,000 kg (33,000 lb) |
Engines | 1 YF-115 |
Thrust | 180 kN (40,000 lbf)[4] |
Specific impulse | 341.5 sec (Vac)[6] |
Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
Third stage | |
Diameter | 2.25 m (7.4 ft) |
Engines | 1 |
Thrust | 6.5 kN (1,500 lbf)[4] |
Specific impulse | 306.9 sec[4] |
Fuel | N2O4 / UDMH[4] |
A boosted variant, with a payload of 4 tons to sun-synchronous orbit, is under development.
List of launches
Flight number | Date (UTC) | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 19, 2015 23:01 |
LA-16, TSLC | ZDPS-2A ZDPS-2B NS-2 ZJ-1 ZJ-2 Tiantuo 3 NUDT-Phone-Sat Xingchen 1 Xingchen 2 Xingchen 3 Xingchen 4 LilacSat 2 XY-2 DCBB Xiwang-2A Xiwang-2B Xiwang-2C Xiwang-2D Xiwang-2E Xiwang-2F |
SSO | Success[8] |
2 | November 21, 2017 04:50 |
LA-16, TSLC | Jilin-1 04 Jilin-1 05 Jilin-1 06 |
SSO | Success |
3 | November 13, 2019 06:35 |
LA-16, TSLC | Ningxia-1 01 Ningxia-1 02 Ningxia-1 03 Ningxia-1 04 Ningxia-1 05 |
LEO | Success |
See also
- Kaituozhe-1
- Kuaizhou
- Comparison of orbital launchers families
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
References
- "China conducts debut launch of Long March 6". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
- "突破运力"下限"的长征6号" [Advances in Light Capacity Long March 6] (in Chinese). Tencent Military Channel. 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
- The Long March 6 launched a 20-star in Taiyuan to create the best in Asia. in Chinese
- ZHANG Wei-dong, WANG Dong-bao (2016). "New Generation Cryogenic Quick Launching Launch Vehicle and Development". AEROSPACE SHANGHAI.
- "Chinese YF-100 (Russian RD-120) to Power CZ-5". SPACEPAC, The Space Public Affairs Committee. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
- "中国新一代液氧煤油发动机3:YF100/115主要特性 - 深空网". www.shenkong.net (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
- "Development of China's new "Changzheng 6" carrier rocket commences". People's Daily Online. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
- "China conducts debut launch of Long March 6". 2015-09-19. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-18. Retrieved 2015-09-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)