Long March 3A

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Rendering of Long March 3A
FunctionCarrier rocket
ManufacturerCALT
Country of originChina
Cost per launchUS$70 million[1]
Size
Height52.52 metres (172.3 ft)[2]
Diameter3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[2]
Mass241,000 kilograms (531,000 lb)[2]
Stages3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass8,500 kilograms (18,700 lb)[3][4]
Payload to GTO
Mass2,600 kilograms (5,700 lb)[5][3]
Payload to HCO
Mass1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb)[3][4]
Associated rockets
FamilyLong March
Derivative workLong March 3B
Long March 3C
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesLA-2 & LA-3, XSLC
Total launches27[5]
Success(es)27[5]
First flight8 February 1994[5]
Last flight9 July 2018
First stage
Height23.272 m
Diameter3.35 m
Propellant mass171,800 kg (378,800 lb)
Powered by4 YF-21C
Maximum thrust2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse2,556.5 m/s (260.69 s)
Burn time148 s
PropellantN2O4 / UDMH
Second stage
Height11.276 m
Diameter3.35 m
Propellant mass32,600 kg (71,900 lb)
Powered by1 YF-24E
(1 x YF-22E (Main))
(4 x YF-23C (Vernier))
Maximum thrust742 kN (167,000 lbf) (Main)
47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier)
Specific impulse2,922.57 m/s (298.019 s) (Main)
2,910.5 m/s (296.79 s) (Vernier)
Burn time115 s
PropellantN2O4 / UDMH
Third stage
Height12.375 m
Diameter3.0 m
Propellant mass18,200 kg (40,100 lb)
Powered by2 YF-75[6]
Maximum thrust167.17 kN (37,580 lbf)
Specific impulse4,295 m/s (438.0 s)
Burn time475 s
PropellantLH2 / LOX

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.

It has formed the basis of the Long March 3B, which is a heavier version with four liquid booster rockets.

Long March 3A launch

Launches[edit]

Long March 3A rockets have been launched from Launch Areas 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

List of launches[edit]

Flight number Serial number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Result
1 Y1 February 8, 1994
08:34
LA-2, XSLC Shijian 4 HEO Success
2 Y2 November 29, 1994
17:02
LA-2, XSLC Dong Fang Hong 3 GTO Success
3 Y3 May 11, 1997
16:17
LA-2, XSLC ChinaSat 6 GTO Success
4 Y4 January 25, 2000
16:45
LA-2, XSLC ChinaSat 22 GTO Success
5 Y5 October 30, 2000
16:02
LA-2, XSLC Beidou-1A GTO Success
6 Y6 December 20, 2000
16:20
LA-2, XSLC Beidou-1B GTO Success
7 Y7 May 24, 2003
16:34
LA-2, XSLC Beidou-1C GTO Success
8 Y8 November 14, 2003
16:01
LA-2, XSLC ChinaSat 20 GTO Success
9 Y9 October 19, 2004
01:20
LA-2, XSLC Fengyun 2C GTO Success
10 Y10 September 12, 2006
16:02
LA-2, XSLC ChinaSat 22A GTO Success
11 Y11 December 8, 2006
00:53
LA-2, XSLC Fengyun 2D GTO Success
12 Y12 February 2, 2007
16:28
LA-2, XSLC Beidou-1D GTO Success
13 Y13 April 13, 2007
20:11
LA-3, XSLC Compass-M1 MEO Success
14 Y15 May 31, 2007
16:08
LA-3, XSLC SinoSat 3 GTO Success
15 Y14 October 24, 2007
10:05
LA-3, XSLC Chang'e 1 LTO Success
16 Y20 December 23, 2008
00:54
LA-3, XSLC Fengyun 2E GTO Success
17 Y16 July 31, 2010
21:30
LA-3, XSLC Compass-IGSO1 GTO Success
18 Y21 November 24, 2010
16:09
LA-3, XSLC ChinaSat 20A GTO Success
19 Y18 December 17, 2010
20:20
LA-3, XSLC Compass-IGSO2 GTO Success
20 Y19 April 9, 2011
20:47
LA-3, XSLC Compass-IGSO3 GTO Success
21 Y17 July 26, 2011
21:44
LA-3, XSLC Compass-IGSO4 GTO Success
22 Y23 December 1, 2011
21:07
LA-3, XSLC Compass-IGSO5 GTO Success
23 Y22 January 13, 2012
00:56
LA-3, XSLC Fengyun 2F GTO Success
24 Y24 December 31, 2014
01:02
LA-2, XSLC Fengyun 2G GTO Success
25 Y26 March 29, 2016
20:11
LA-2, XSLC Compass-IGSO6 GTO Success
26 Y25 June 5, 2018
13:07
LA-2, XSLC Fengyun 2H GTO Success
27 Y27 July 9, 2018
20:58
LA-2, XSLC Compass-IGSO7 GTO Success

Technical data[edit]

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.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b c Mark Wade. "CZ-3A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  3. ^ a b c "LM-3A Series Launch Vehicle User's Manual - Issue 2011" (PDF). China Great Wall Industries Corporation. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  4. ^ a b Gunter Krebs. "CZ-3A (Chang Zheng-3A)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  5. ^ a b c d e "LM-3A". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  6. ^ "Long March 3C/E - Rockets". Spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 2016-11-25.