Rendering of Long March 4C
FunctionLaunch vehicle
ManufacturerSAST
Country of originChina
Size
Height45.8 m (150 ft) [1]
Diameter3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Mass250,000 kg (550,000 lb)
Stages3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass4,200 kg (9,300 lb) [2]
Payload to SSO
Mass2,800 kg (6,200 lb) [2]
Payload to GTO
Mass1,500 kg (3,300 lb) [2]
Associated rockets
FamilyLong March
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesTSLC, LA-7, LA-9
JSLC, LA-4/SLS-2
XSLC, LA-3
Total launches53
Success(es)51
Failure(s)2
First flight26 April 2006
Last flight26 September 2023
First stage
Height27.91 m
Diameter3.35 m
Propellant mass182,000 kg (401,000 lb)
Powered by4 YF-21C
Maximum thrust2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse2,550 m/s (8,400 ft/s)
PropellantN2O4 / UDMH
Second stage
Height10.9 m
Diameter3.35 m
Propellant mass52,700 kg (116,200 lb)
Powered by1 YF-24C
(1 x YF-22C (Main))
(4 x YF-23C (Vernier))
Maximum thrust742.04 kN (166,820 lbf) (Main)
47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier)
Specific impulse2,942 m/s (9,650 ft/s) (Main)
2,834 m/s (9,300 ft/s) (Vernier)
PropellantN2O4 / UDMH
Third stage
Height14.79 m
Diameter2.9 m
Propellant mass14,000 kg (31,000 lb)
Powered by2 YF-40A
Maximum thrust100.85 kN (22,670 lbf)
Specific impulse2,971 m/s (9,750 ft/s)
PropellantN2O4 / UDMH
[edit on Wikidata]

The Long March 4C, also known as the Chang Zheng 4C, CZ-4C and LM-4C, previously designated Long March 4B-II, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. It is launched from the Jiuquan, Taiyuan, and Xichang Satellite Launch Centers, and consists of 3 stages. Long March 4C vehicles have been used to launch the Yaogan-1, Yaogan-3 synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites and the Fengyun-3A polar orbiting meteorological satellite. On 15 December 2009, a Long March 4C was used to launch Yaogan-8.[3]

Because it was still designated as Long March 4B-II at the time of its maiden flight, the first launch is often mistaken for a Long March 4B. The Long March 4C is derived from the Long March 4B, but features a restartable upper stage, and a larger payload fairing.

On 1 September 2016, the Long March 4C failed for reasons not yet known. A Long March 4C rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi but failed to insert its payload, the Gaofen 10 satellite, into its designated orbit.[4][5]

Launch statistics

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2006
2010
2015
2020
  •   Failure
  •   Partial failure
  •   Success
  •   Planned

List of launches

Main article: List of Long March launches
Flight number Serial number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Result
1 Y1 26 April 2006
22:48 		TSLC, LA-7 Yaogan 1 SSO Success
2 Y3 11 November 2007
22:48 		TSLC, LA-7 Yaogan 3 SSO Success
3 Y2 27 May 2008
03:02 		TSLC, LA-7 Fengyun 3A SSO Success
4 Y4 15 December 2009
02:31 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 8
Xiwang 1 		SSO Success
5 Y5 5 March 2010
04:55 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 9A
Yaogan 9B
Yaogan 9C 		LEO Success
6 Y6 9 August 2010
22:49 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 10 SSO Success
7 Y7 4 November 2010
18:37 		TSLC, LA-9 Fengyun 3B SSO Success
8 Y10 29 May 2012
07:31 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 15 SSO Success
9 Y9 25 November 2012
04:06 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 16A
Yaogan 16B
Yaogan 16C 		LEO Success
10 Y11 19 July 2013
23:37 		TSLC, LA-9 Shijian 15
Shiyan 7
Chuangxin-3 		SSO Success
11 Y13 1 September 2013
19:16 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 17A
Yaogan 17B
Yaogan 17C 		LEO Success
12 Y12 23 September 2013
03:07 		TSLC, LA-9 Fengyun 3C SSO Success
13 Y14 20 November 2013
03:31 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 19 SSO Success
14 Y15 9 August 2014
05:45 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 20A
Yaogan 20B
Yaogan 20C 		LEO Success
15 Y16 20 October 2014
06:31 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 22 SSO Success
16 Y17 10 December 2014
19:33 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 25A
Yaogan 25B
Yaogan 25C 		LEO Success
17 Y18 27 August 2015
02:31 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 27 SSO Success
18 Y8 26 November 2015
21:24 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 29 SSO Success
19 Y19 9 August 2016
22:55 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen 3 SSO Success
20 Y22 31 August 2016
18:50 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen 10 SSO Failure [4]
21 Y21 14 November 2017
18:35 		TSLC, LA-9 Fengyun 3D
HEAD-1 		SSO Success
22 Y26 31 March 2018
03:22 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen-1 02
Gaofen-1 03
Gaofen-1 04 		SSO Success
23 Y25 10 April 2018
04:25 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 31-01A
Yaogan 31-01B
Yaogan 31-01C 		LEO Success
24 Y20 8 May 2018
18:28 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen 5 SSO Success
25 Y27 20 May 2018
21:28 		XSLC, LA-3 Queqiao
Longjiang-1
Longjiang-2 		Earth–Moon L2 Success
26 Y23 22 May 2019
22:49 		TSLC, LA-9 Yaogan 33 SSO Failure [6]
27 Y33 4 October 2019
18:51 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen 10(R) SSO Success
28 Y24 27 November 2019
23:52 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen 12 SSO Success
29 Y35 27 December 2020
15:44 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 33(R) SSO Success
30 Y31 29 January 2021
04:47 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 31-02A
Yaogan 31-02B
Yaogan 31-02C 		LEO Success
31 Y32 24 February 2021
02:22 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 31-03A
Yaogan 31-03B
Yaogan 31-03C 		LEO Success
32 Y42 13 March 2021
02:19 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 31-04A
Yaogan 31-04B
Yaogan 31-04C 		LEO Success
33 Y36 30 March 2021
22:45 		JSLC, SLS-2 Gaofen 12-02 SSO Success
34 Y34 30 April 2021
07:27 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 34 LEO Success
35 Y43 4 July 2021
23:28 		JSLC, SLS-2 Fengyun 3E SSO Success
36 Y40 7 September 2021
03:01 		TSLC, LA-9 Gaofen 5-02 SSO Success
37 Y37 22 November 2021
23:45 		JSLC, SLS-2 Gaofen 3-02 SSO Success
38 Y39 26 December 2021
03:11 		TSLC, LA-9 Ziyuan I-02E
XW-3 (CAS-9) 		SSO Success
39 Y29 25 January 2022
23:44 		JSLC, SLS-2 Ludi Tance-1 01A SSO Success
40 Y30 26 February 2022
23:44 		JSLC, SLS-2 Ludi Tance-1 01B SSO Success
41 Y47 17 March 2022
07:09 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 34-02 LEO Success
42 Y38 6 April 2022
23:47 		JSLC, SLS-2 Gaofen 3-03 SSO Success
43 Y28 15 April 2022
18:16 		TSLC, LA-9 Daqi-1 (AEMS) SSO Success
44 Y46 27 June 2022
15:46 		JSLC, SLS-2 Gaofen 12-03 SSO Success
45 Y52 2 September 2022
23:44 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 33-02 SSO Success
46 Y48 15 November 2022
01:38 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 34-03 LEO Success
47 Y57 12 December 2022
08:22 		JSLC, SLS-2 Shiyan-20A
Shiyan-20B 		LEO Success
48 Y51 9 March 2023
22:41 		TSLC, LA-9 Tianhui-6A
Tianhui-6B 		SSO Success
49 Y49 31 March 2023
06:27 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 34-04 LEO Success
50 Y44 3 August 2023
03:47 		JSLC, SLS-2 Fengyun 3F SSO Success
51 Y56 20 August 2023
17:45 		JSLC, SLS-2 Gaofen 12-04 SSO Success
52 Y53 6 September 2023
18:14 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 33-03 SSO Success
53 Y54 26 September 2023
20:15 		JSLC, SLS-2 Yaogan 33-04 SSO Success

See also

References

  1. ^ Brian Harvey (2013). China in Space: The Great Leap Forward. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4614-5043-6.
  2. ^ a b c "CZ-4C (Chang Zheng-4C)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  3. ^ Rui C. Barbosa (15 December 2009). "China completes 2009 schedule by launching another spy satellite". NASASpaceFlight.com.
  4. ^ a b Stephen Chen (2 September 2016). "Chinese rocket launch reported to have failed, destroying cutting-edge earth observation satellite". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  5. ^ Rui C. Barbosa (2 September 2016). "Long March 4C apparently fails during Gaofen 10 launch". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Launch of Yaogan-33 satellite fails in north China". Xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.

External links

Orbital launch systems
Chinese space program
Long March (rocket family)
Categories