Jiuquan Launch Area 4
40°57′30″N100°17′29″E/ 40.9582°N 100.2913°E
 Long March 2Din 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Launch site | Jiuquan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Time zone | UTC+8(China Standard) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Short name | LA-4 (SLS) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total launches | 135 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch pad(s) | Two | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Launch Area 4(LA-4), also known as theSouth Launch SiteorSLS,andLC-43,is the only activeLong Marchlaunch complex at theJiuquan Satellite Launch Center.[1][2]
It consists of twolaunch pads:SLS-1 / 921 (LC-43/91)[3]and SLS-2 / 603 (LC-43/94).[3]
SLS-1 has been the launch site for all missions conducted as part of theShenzhou programme,including the firstChinesecrewed spaceflight,Shenzhou 5.Since it was activated in 1999;Long March 2C,Long March 2D,Long March 2F,Long March 4CandLong March 11rockets have launched from LA-4. The first spacecraft to be launched from the site wasShenzhou 1,atop aLong March 2F,on 19 November 1999.[4]
SLS-2 became operational in 2003,[5]and has since been used for most uncrewed launches from Jiuquan. As of March 2010, twenty launches have been made from the complex. The most recent launch from the site was from SLS-2 on 5 March 2010, when the Long March 4C made its first flight from the complex, carrying theYaogan 9satellite.[1]Long March 4launches had previously only been conducted from theTaiyuan Satellite Launch Center.[6]
References
[edit]
- ^abBarbosa, Rui C (5 March 2010)."China launch YaoGan Weixing-9, announce increase in vehicle production".NASASpaceflight.com.Retrieved5 March2010.
- ^Wade, Mark."Jiuquan".Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived fromthe originalon 13 March 2002.Retrieved5 March2010.
- ^abBarbosa, Rui C. (6 August 2020)."Chinese Long March 2D's 50th launch lofts latest Gaofen-9 satellite".NASASpaceFlight.Retrieved6 August2020.
The LC-43 launch complex, also known as the South Launch Site (SLS) is equipped with two launch pads: 91 and 94. Launch Pad 91 is used for the manned program for the launch of the Long March-2F launch vehicle (Shenzhou and Tiangong). Launch Pad 94 is used for uncrewed orbital launches by the Long March-2C, Long March-2D and Long March-4C launch vehicles.
- ^Wade, Mark."Jiuquan SLS".Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2010.Retrieved5 March2010.
- ^Wade, Mark."Jiuquan SLS-2".Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2011.Retrieved5 March2010.
- ^McDowell, Jonathan."Launch Log".Jonathan's Space Page.Retrieved5 March2010.