Long March 3A

For the similarly-named submachine gun, see CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1.

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.

Long March 3A launch

Launches

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

List of launches

Main article: List of Long March launches

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

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

1. "Surplus Missile Motors: Sale Price Drives Potential Effects on DOD and Commercial Launch Providers | U.S. GAO".
2. Mark Wade. "CZ-3A". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
3. "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.
4. Gunter Krebs. "CZ-3A (Chang Zheng-3A)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
5. "LM-3A". China Great Wall Industry Corporation. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
6. "Long March 3C/E - Rockets". Spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 2016-11-25.

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