![]() 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 | Active |
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 |
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.