Long March 3B

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The Long March 3B (Template:Zh), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocket with four strap-on liquid rocket boosters, it is the heaviest variant of the Long March 3 rocket family, and is mainly used to place communications satellites and navigation satellites into geosynchronous orbits.

An enhanced version, the Long March 3B/E or G2, was introduced in 2007 to increase the rocket's geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) cargo capacity and lift heavier geosynchronous orbit (GEO) communications satellites. The Long March 3B also served as the basis for the medium-capacity Long March 3C, which was first launched in 2008.

since 20 June 2025Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., the Long March 3B, 3B/E and 3B/G5 have conducted 106 successful launches, plus 2 failures and 2 partial failures, accumulating a success rate of Script error: No such module "Percentage".. It is the first Long March series rocket to accumulate 100 orbital launches.

History

The development of the Long March 3B began in 1986 to meet the needs of the international GEO communications satellite market. During its maiden flight, on 14 February 1996 carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite, the rocket suffered a guidance failure two seconds into the flight and destroyed a nearby town, killing at least six people,[1] but outside estimates suggest that anywhere between 200 and 500 people might have been killed.[2] However, the author of the report[2] later ruled out large casualties, because evidence suggest that the crash site was evacuated before the launch.[3]

The Long March 3B and 3B/E rockets conducted ten successful launches between 1997 and 2008.[4]

In 1997, the Agila 2 satellite was forced to use onboard propellant to reach its correct orbit because of poor injection accuracy on the part of its Long March 3B launch vehicle.[5] In 2009, a Long March 3B partially failed during launch due to a third stage anomaly, which resulted in the Palapa-D satellite reaching a lower orbit than planned.[6] Nonetheless, the satellite was able to maneuver itself into the planned orbit. The Long March 3B and its variants remain in active use since January 2021Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., having conducted a total of 26 consecutive successful launches, since 19 June 2017 until 9 March 2020.

In December 2013, a Long March 3B/E successfully lifted Chang'e 3, China's first Lunar lander and rover into the projected lunar-transfer orbit.

In April 2020, the third stage of the Long March 3B/E failed during a Palapa-N1 communications satellite mission; this was the first total failure of the Long March 3B/E.[7]

Design and variants

The Long March 3B is based on the Long March 3A as its core stage, with four liquid boosters strapped on the first stage. It has a low Earth orbit (LEO) cargo capacity of Template:Cvt and a GTO capacity is Template:Cvt.

Long March 3B/E

The Long March 3B/E, also known as 3B/G2, is an enhanced variant of the Long March 3B, featuring an enlarged first stage and boosters, increasing its GTO payload capacity to Template:Cvt.[8] Its maiden flight took place on 13 May 2007, when it successfully launched Nigeria's NigComSat-1, the first African geosynchronous communications satellite. In 2013, it successfully launched China's first lunar lander Chang'e 3 and lunar rover Yutu.

Since 2015, the Long March 3B and 3C can optionally accommodate a YZ-1 upper stage, which has been used to carry dual launches or BeiDou navigation satellites into medium Earth orbit (MEO).

Long March 3C

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A modified version of the Long March 3B, the Long March 3C, was developed in the mid-1990s to bridge the gap in payload capacity between the Long March 3B and 3A. It is almost identical to the Long March 3B, but has two boosters instead of four, giving it a reduced GTO payload capacity of Template:Cvt. Its maiden launch took place on 25 April 2008.


Launch statistics

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List of launches

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Flight number Serial number Date (UTC) Launch site Version Payload Orbit Result
1 Y1 14 February 1996
19:01 		XSLC, LA-2 3B Intelsat 708 GTO Template:Failure
2 Y2 19 August 1997
17:50 		XSLC, LA-2 3B Agila-2 GTO Template:Success
3 Y3 16 October 1997
19:13 		XSLC, LA-2 3B APStar 2R GTO Template:Success
4 Y5 30 May 1998
10:00 		XSLC, LA-2 3B Chinastar 1 GTO Template:Success
5 Y4 18 July 1998
09:20 		XSLC, LA-2 3B SinoSat 1 GTO Template:Success
6 Y6 12 April 2005
12:00 		XSLC, LA-2 3B APStar 6 GTO Template:Success
7 Y7 28 October 2006
16:20 		XSLC, LA-2 3B SinoSat 2 GTO Template:Success
8 Y9 13 May 2007
16:01 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E NigComSat-1 GTO Template:Success
9 Y10 5 July 2007
12:08 		XSLC, LA-2 3B ChinaSat 6B GTO Template:Success
10 Y11 9 June 2008
12:15 		XSLC, LA-2 3B ChinaSat 9 GTO Template:Success
11 Y12 29 October 2008
16:53 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Venesat-1 GTO Template:Success
12 Y8 31 August 2009
09:28 		XSLC, LA-2 3B Palapa-D GTO Template:Partial failure
13 Y13 4 September 2010
16:14 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E SinoSat 6 GTO Template:Success
14 Y20 20 June 2011
16:13 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 10 GTO Template:Success
15 Y19 11 August 2011
16:15 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Paksat-1R GTO Template:Success
16 Y16 18 September 2011
16:33 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 1A GTO Template:Success
17 Y18 7 October 2011
08:21 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Eutelsat W3C GTO Template:Success
18 Y21 19 December 2011
16:41 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E NigComSat-1R GTO Template:Success
19 Y22 31 March 2012
10:27 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E APStar 7 GTO Template:Success
20 Y14 29 April 2012
20:50 		XSLC, LA-2 3B Compass-M3
Compass-M4 		MEO Template:Success
21 Y17 26 May 2012
15:56 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 2A GTO Template:Success
22 Y15 18 September 2012
19:10 		XSLC, LA-2 3B Compass-M5
Compass-M6 		MEO Template:Success
23 Y24 27 November 2012
10:13 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 12 GTO Template:Success
24 Y25 1 May 2013
16:06 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 11 GTO Template:Success
25 Y23 1 December 2013
17:30 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Chang'e 3 TLI Template:Success
26 Y27 20 December 2013
16:42 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Túpac Katari 1 GTO Template:Success
27 Y26 25 July 2015
12:29 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou M1-S
BeiDou M2-S 		MEO Template:Success
28 Y32 12 September 2015
15:42 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TJS-1 GTO Template:Success
29 Y33 29 September 2015
23:13 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E BeiDou I2-S GTO Template:Success
30 Y36 16 October 2015
16:16 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E APStar 9 GTO Template:Success
31 Y34 3 November 2015
16:25 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E ChinaSat 2C GTO Template:Success
32 Y38 20 November 2015
16:07 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E LaoSat-1 GTO Template:Success
33 Y31 9 December 2015
16:46 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E ChinaSat 1C GTO Template:Success
34 Y37 28 December 2015
16:04 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Gaofen 4 GTO Template:Success
35 Y29 15 January 2016
16:57 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E Belintersat-1 GTO Template:Success
36 Y35 5 August 2016
16:22 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E Tiantong 1-01 GTO Template:Success
37 Y42 10 December 2016
16:11 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E Fengyun-4A GTO Template:Success
38 Y39 5 January 2017
15:18 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TJS-2 GTO Template:Success
39 Y43 12 April 2017
11:04 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Shijian 13 GTO Template:Success
40 Y28 19 June 2017
16:11 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Chinasat 9A GTO Template:Partial failure
41 Y46 5 November 2017
11:45 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M1
BeiDou-3 M2 		MEO Template:Success
42 Y40 10 December 2017
16:40 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Alcomsat-1 GTO Template:Success
43 Y45 11 January 2018
23:18 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M7
BeiDou-3 M8 		MEO Template:Success
44 Y47 12 February 2018
05:03 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M3
BeiDou-3 M4 		MEO Template:Success
45 Y48 29 March 2018
17:56 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M9
BeiDou-3 M10 		MEO Template:Success
46 Y55 3 May 2018
16:06 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Apstar 6C GTO Template:Success
47 Y49 29 July 2018
01:48 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M5
BeiDou-3 M6 		MEO Template:Success
48 Y50 24 August 2018
23:52 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M11
BeiDou-3 M12 		MEO Template:Success
49 Y51 19 September 2018
14:07 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M13
BeiDou-3 M14 		MEO Template:Success
50 Y52 15 October 2018
04:23 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M15
BeiDou-3 M16 		MEO Template:Success
51 Y41 1 November 2018
15:57 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E BeiDou-3 G1 GTO Template:Success
52 Y53 18 November 2018
18:07 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M17
BeiDou-3 M18 		MEO Template:Success
53 Y30 7 December 2018
18:23 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Chang'e 4 TLI Template:Success
54 Y56 10 January 2019
17:11 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 2D GTO Template:Success
55 Y54 9 March 2019
16:28 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E ChinaSat 6C GTO Template:Success
56 Y44 31 March 2019
15:51 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tianlian 2-01 GTO Template:Success
57 Y59 20 April 2019
14:41 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E BeiDou-3 I1 GTO Template:Success
58 Y60 24 June, 2019
18:09 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E BeiDou-3 I2 GTO Template:Success
59 Y58 19 August 2019
12:03 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 18 GTO Template:Success
60 Y65 22 September 2019
21:10 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M23
BeiDou-3 M24 		MEO Template:Success
61 Y57 17 October 2019
15:21 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E TJS-4 GTO Template:Success
62 Y61 4 November 2019
17:43 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E BeiDou-3 I3 GTO Template:Success
63 Y66 23 November 2019
00:55 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M21
BeiDou-3 M22 		MEO Template:Success
64 Y67 16 December 2019
07:22 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M19
BeiDou-3 M20 		MEO Template:Success
65 Y62 7 January 2020
15:20 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TJS-5 GTO Template:Success
66 Y69 9 March 2020
11:55 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E BeiDou-3 G2 GTO Template:Success
67 Y71 9 April 2020
11:46 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Palapa-N1 (Nusantara Dua) GTO Template:Failure [9]
68 Y68 23 June 2020
01:43 [10] 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E BeiDou-3 G3 GTO Template:Success
69 Y64 9 July 2020
12:11 [11] 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Apstar 6D GTO Template:Success
70 Y63 11 October 2020
16:57 [12] 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Gaofen-13 GTO Template:Success
71 Y73 12 November 2020
15:59 [13] 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tiantong 1-02 GTO Template:Success
72 Y70 6 December 2020
03:58 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E Gaofen-14 SSO Template:Success
73 Y74 19 January 2021
16:25 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tiantong 1-03 GTO Template:Success
74 Y77 4 February 2021
15:36 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E TJS-6 GTO Template:Success
75 Y72 2 June 2021
16:17 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Fengyun 4B GTO Template:Success
76 Y76 5 August 2021
16:30 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 2E GTO Template:Success
77 Y78 24 August 2021
15:41 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E TJS-7 GTO Template:Success
78 Y86 9 September 2021
11:50 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 9B GTO Template:Success
79 Y81 27 September 2021
08:20 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Shiyan 10 GTO Template:Success[14]
80 Y83 24 October 2021
01:27:03 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Shijian-21 GTO Template:Success
81 Y79 26 November 2021
16:40:04 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 1D GTO Template:Success
82 Y82 13 December 2021
16:09 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E Tianlian II-02 GTO Template:Success
83 Y84 29 December 2021
16:43 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TJS-9 GTO Template:Success
84 Y89 15 April 2022
12:00 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 6D GTO Template:Success
85 Y85 12 July 2022
16:30 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tianlian II-03 GTO Template:Success
86 Y91 5 November 2022
11:50 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 19 GTO Template:Success
87 Y88 29 December 2022
04:43 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Shiyan 10-02 GTO Template:Success
88 Y93 23 February 2023
11:49 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 26 GTO Template:Success
89 Y90 17 March 2023
08:33 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Gaofen 13-02 GTO Template:Success
90 Y87 17 May 2023
02:49 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E BeiDou-3 G4 GTO Template:Success
91 Y92 12 August 2023
17:26 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Ludi Tance-4 01A GTO Template:Success
92 Y94 9 November 2023
11:23 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 6E GTO Template:Success
93 Y75 26 December 2023
03:26 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M26
BeiDou-3 M28 		MEO Template:Success
94 Y95 29 February 2024
13:03 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Weixing Hulianwang Gaogui-01 GTO Template:Success
95 Y96 9 May 2024
01:43 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Zhihui Tianwang 1-01A
Zhihui Tianwang 1-01B 		MEO Template:Success
96 Y98 30 May 2024
12:12 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Paksat-MM1R GTO Template:Success
97 Y97 1 August 2024
13:14 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Weixing Hulianwang Gaogui-02 GTO Template:Success
98 Y80 19 September 2024
01:14 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E + YZ-1 BeiDou-3 M25
BeiDou-3 M27 		MEO Template:Success
99 Y100 10 October 2024
13:50 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Weixing Hulianwang Gaogui-03 GTO Template:Success
100 Y103 3 December 2024
05:56 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E TJS-13 GTO Template:Success
101 Y99 20 December 2024
15:12 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TJS-12 GTO Template:Success
102 Y104 6 January 2025
20:00 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E Shijian-25 GTO Template:Success
103 Y105 23 January 2025
15:32 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TJS-14 GTO Template:Success
104 Y101 22 February 2025
12:11 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 10R GTO Template:Success
105 Y107 9 March 2025
17:17 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E TJS-15 GTO Template:Success
106 Y102 26 March 2025
15:55 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tianlian II-04 GTO Template:Success
107 Y108 10 April 2025
16:47 		XSLC, LA-3 3B/E TJS-17 GTO Template:Success
108 Y109 27 April 2025
15:54 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tianlian II-05 GTO Template:Success
109 Y110 28 May 2025
17:31 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Tianwen-2 Heliocentric Template:Success
110 Y111 20 June 2025
12:37 		XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 9C GTO Template:Success
111 Y? August 2025
 XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TBA GTO Template:Planned
Y? September 2025
 XSLC, LA-2 3B/E Fengyun 4C GTO Template:Planned
Y? Q4 2025
 XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TBA GTO Template:Planned
Y? Q4 2025
 XSLC, LA-2 3B/E TBA GTO Template:Planned
Y? 2027
 XSLC, LA-2 3B/E ChinaSat 27 GTO Template:Planned

Notable payloads

Flight mishaps and anomalies

Intelsat 708 launch failure

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". On 14 February 1996, the launch of the first Long March 3B with Intelsat 708 failed just after liftoff when the launch vehicle veered off course and exploded when it hit the ground at T+23 seconds.

The Xinhua news agency reported that six people were killed and 57 injured. However, the Americans on hand for the launch have testified that "dozens, if not hundreds", of people were seen to gather outside the centre's main gate near the crash site the night before launch.[15] When reporters were being taken away from the site, they found that most buildings had sustained serious damage or had been flattened completely.[15] Other eyewitnesses were noted as having seen dozens of ambulances and many flatbed trucks, loaded with what could have been human remains, being taken to the local hospital.[15]

The cause of the accident was traced to short-circuiting of the vehicle's guidance platform at liftoff.[16]

The participation of Space Systems/Loral in the accident investigation caused great political controversy in the United States. In 1997, the U.S. Defense Technology Security Administration found that China had obtained "significant benefit" from the Review Committee, results of which would improve their "launch vehicles ... ballistic missiles and in particular their guidance systems".

As a result, the U.S. Congress reclassified satellite technology as a munition and placed it back under the restrictive International Traffic in Arms Regulations in 1998.[17] No license to launch United States spacecraft on Chinese rockets has been approved by the U.S. State Department since then, and an official at the Bureau of Industry and Security emphasized in 2016 that "no U.S.-origin content, regardless of significance, regardless of whether it's incorporated into a foreign-made item, can go to China".[18]

Palapa-D partial launch failure

On 31 August 2009, during the launch of Palapa-D, the third stage engine under-performed and placed the satellite into a lower than planned orbit. The satellite was able to make up the performance shortfall using its own engine and reach geosynchronous orbit, but with its lifetime shortened to 10.5 years from the originally projected 15–16 years. The investigation found that the failure was due to burn-through of the engine's gas generator, and that "the most likely cause of the burn-through was a foreign matter or humidity-caused icing in the engine's liquid-hydrogen injectors".[19]

ChinaSat-9A partial launch failure

On 19 June 2017, a Long March 3B/E mission carrying ChinaSat-9A ended in partial failure. Officials did not release details regarding the status of the mission for at least 4 hours after liftoff.[20] Two weeks later, on 7 July 2017, officials confirmed that the mission had been anomalous, with Space Daily reporting that "an anomaly was found on the carrier rocket's rolling control thruster, part of the attitude control engine, during the third gliding phase". The failure in the rocket's third stage left the payload in a lower than intended orbit, and the payload was forced to spend two weeks reaching its intended orbit under its own power.[21]

Palapa-N1 (Nusantara Dua) launch failure

On 9 April 2020, a Long March 3B launcher failed after lifting off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan province at 11:46 UTC during the launch of an Indonesian communications satellite, Palapa-N1 (Nusantara Dua) of a mass of 5500 kg and was expected to enter service in geostationary orbit at 113.0° East, replacing the Palapa-D satellite. But one of the two YF-75 third stage engines failed to ignite, preventing the Palapa-N1 (Nusantara Dua) satellite from reaching orbit.[22] Wreckage from the third stage and the Palapa-N1 spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere, leading to sightings of fiery debris in the skies over Guam. With the Long March 3B failure, Chinese rockets have faltered on two missions in less than a month. A Long March 7A rocket failed to place a satellite in orbit on 16 March 2020 after taking off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, located in southern China.[23] After two Chinese launch failures in less than a month, further Chinese launches will be likely delayed until it is sure that the quality control is satisfactory.[24]

Rocket debris

Debris from Long March 3B launches have fallen on nearby villages due to the inland location of China's launch sites. Grid fins for guiding boosters down to Earth more accurately have been tested on Long March 2C and 4B, but not yet on 3B.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Template:PD-notice
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  5. ↑ International reference guide to space launch systems. Fourth edition. p. 243. Template:ISBN
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/04/09/chinese-rocket-fails-during-launch-of-indonesian-communications-satellite/ - 9 April 2020
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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