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.
 Rendering of Long March 3A | |
| Function | Carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | CALT |
| Country of origin | China |
| Cost per launch | US$70 million[1] |
| Size | |
| Height | 52.52 metres (172.3 ft)[2] |
| Diameter | 3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[2] |
| Mass | 241,000 kilograms (531,000 lb)[2] |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 8,500 kilograms (18,700 lb)[3][4] |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 2,600 kilograms (5,700 lb)[5][3] |
| Payload to HCO | |
| Mass | 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb)[3][4] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Long March |
| Derivative work | Long March 3B Long March 3C |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Possible Retired, 6 years ago last launch |
| Launch sites | LA-2 & LA-3, XSLC |
| Total launches | 27[5] |
| Success(es) | 27[5] |
| First flight | 8 February 1994[5] |
| Last flight | 9 July 2018 |
| First stage | |
| Height | 23.272 m |
| Diameter | 3.35 m |
| 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 | 148 s |
| Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
| Second stage | |
| Height | 11.276 m |
| Diameter | 3.35 m |
| Propellant mass | 32,600 kg (71,900 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 YF-24E (1 x YF-22E (Main)) (4 x YF-23C (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 | 115 s |
| Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
| Third stage | |
| Height | 12.375 m |
| Diameter | 3.0 m |
| Propellant mass | 18,200 kg (40,100 lb) |
| Powered by | 2 YF-75[6] |
| Maximum thrust | 167.17 kN (37,580 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 4,295 m/s (438.0 s) |
| Burn time | 475 s |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
It has formed the basis of the Long March 3B, which is a heavier version with four liquid booster rockets.
Launches
editLong 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
editLM-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- ^ "Surplus Missile Motors: Sale Price Drives Potential Effects on DOD and Commercial Launch Providers | U.S. GAO".
- ^ a b c Mark Wade. "CZ-3A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ a b c "LM-3A Series Launch Vehicle User's Manual - Issue 2011" (PDF). China Great Wall Industries Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
- ^ a b Gunter Krebs. "CZ-3A (Chang Zheng-3A)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ a b c d e "LM-3A". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ "Long March 3C/E - Rockets". Spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
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