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Chinese Space Launch Vehicles

Principal responsibility for the design and production of Chang Zheng (Long March) or CZ family launch vehicles lies with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology [CALT] and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology [SAST], both of which belong to the China Aerospace Corporation.

As of June 1998 China had conducted 60 space launches, of which 49 were completly successful, with another 7 failing to reach orbit and 4 suffering post-launch failures. This failure rate is substantially higher than its primary Eurasian competitors: CIS, ESA, and Japan. Despite a relatively low domestic launch demand - typically 2-3 satellites annually - the PRC has developed and is expanding, in part for commercial reasons, a surprisingly diverse inventory of launch vehicles to support both LEO and GEO missions.

Launch Vehicle	Payload [kg]			Launch Site			Builder
	LEO	Polar	GTO	Jiuquan	Xichang	Taiyun
CZ-1							CALT
CZ-1D	900	300					CALT
FB-1							SAST
CZ-2	2,000	700					CALT
CZ-2C	2,000	700					CALT
CZ-2C/SD	2,000	700					CALT
CZ-2D	3,000		1,250				CALT
CZ-2E	8,800		3,375				CALT
CZ-2E(A)	12,000		3,375				CALT
CZ-2F	? 8,800		? 3,375				CALT
CZ-3	5,000		1,400				CALT
CZ-3A	7,200		2,500				CALT
CZ-3B	13,500		4,000				CALT
CZ-3C			3,700				CALT
CZ-4A		2,500					SAST
CZ-4B							SAST
CZ-5	25,000						CALT
Shuttle							CALT

Image courtesy Dragon in Space

Sources and Resources

• Long March Launch Log @ Dragon in Space
• Long March FLIGHT RECORD @ CALT [not quite as candid]

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