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Long March 6A

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Long March 6A
The moment of the ignition of CZ-6A Y1
FunctionLaunch vehicle
ManufacturerShanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
Country of originChina
Size
Height50 m (160 ft)
Diameter3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Mass530,000 kg (1,170,000 lb)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to 700 km (430 mi)SSO
Mass4,500 kg (9,900 lb)
Associated rockets
FamilyLong March
ComparableAntares
Soyuz-2
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesTaiyuanLA-9A
Total launches6
Success(es)6
First flight29 March 2022
Last flight4 July 2024
Boosters
No. boosters4
Diameter2.0 m (6 ft 7 in)
Maximum thrust1,214 kN (273,000 lbf)
Total thrust4,828 kN (1,085,000 lbf)
Propellantsolid
First stage
Diameter3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Powered by2YF-100
Maximum thrust2,376 kN (534,000 lbf)[1]
Specific impulse300 seconds (sea level)
335 seconds (vacuum)[2]
PropellantRP-1/LOX
Second stage
Diameter3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Powered by1YF-115
Maximum thrust180 kN (40,000 lbf)[1]
Specific impulse341.5 seconds (vacuum)[3]
PropellantRP-1/LOX

TheLong March 6A(Chinese:Trường chinh số 6 giáp tên lửa vận chuyển) orChang Zheng 6Aas inpinyin,abbreviatedLM 6Afor export orCZ 6Awithin China, is a Chineselaunch vehicleof theLong March family,which was developed by theChina Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation(CASC)[4]and theShanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology(SAST).

The vehicle is a further development of theLong March 6,with 2YF-100engines on the first stage as opposed to 1 on the Long March 6, augmented by 4solid rocket boosters.The Long March 6A is China's first rocket with solid rocket boosters. There also exists a shorter boosterless variant of the 6A called theLong March 6C.

The maiden launch of the Long March 6A took place on March 29, 2022, successfully reaching orbit.[5]It was also the first launch from the newly built launch complex 9A inTaiyuan.

Launch statistics[edit]

1
2
2022
2023
2024
  • Failure
  • Partial failure
  • Success
  • Planned

List of launches[edit]

Flight number Serial number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Result
1 Y1 29 March 2022
09:50[5]
Taiyuan,LA-9A Pu gian g-2
Tiankun-2
SSO Success
2 Y2 11 November 2022
22:52
Taiyuan,LA-9A Yunhai-301 SSO Success
3 Y5 10 September 2023
04:30
Taiyuan,LA-9A Yaogan 40A
Yaogan 40B
Yaogan 40C
LEO Success
4 Y4 31 October 2023
22:50
Taiyuan,LA-9A Tianhui 5A
Tianhui 5B
SSO Success
5 Y3 26 March 2024
22:51
Taiyuan,LA-9A Yunhai-302 SSO Success
6 Y7 4 July 2024
22:49
Taiyuan,LA-9A Tianhui 5 02A
Tianhui 5 02B
SSO Success
7 Y? July 2024 Taiyuan,LA-9A TBA SSO Planned
8 Y? 5 August 2024
03:00
Taiyuan,LA-9A G60 × 18 SSO Planned

Mishaps[edit]

After the release of the Yunhai 3 following the Y2 launch of 11 November 2022, the Long March 6's upper stage exploded and broke into more than 50 pieces of debris, which expanded to more than 350 pieces. The vehicle was supposed to re-enter in one piece and then burn up and it's unclear why it exploded instead.[6][7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abZHANG Wei-dong, WANG Dong-bao (2016). "New Generation Cryogenic Quick Launching Launch Vehicle and Development".Aerospace Shanghai.
  2. ^"Chinese YF-100 (Russian RD-120) to Power CZ-5".SPACEPAC, The Space Public Affairs Committee. Archived fromthe originalon 2017-10-25.Retrieved2015-07-02.
  3. ^"Trung Quốc tân một thế hệ dịch oxy dầu hoả động cơ 3: YF100/115 chủ yếu đặc tính - thâm không võng".shenkong.net(in Chinese). Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-04.Retrieved2016-04-11.
  4. ^"Development of China's new" Changzheng 6 "carrier rocket commences".People's Daily Online. 2009-09-04.Retrieved6 September2009.
  5. ^abBeil, Adrian (29 March 2022)."China debuts Chang Zheng 6A, teases more variants".NASASpaceFlight.Retrieved29 March2022.
  6. ^Jones, Andrew."Chinese rocket body breaks up in orbit after successful satellite launch".Space.Retrieved7 December2022.
  7. ^Passant, Rabie."Chinese Rocket Stage Now a Cloud of Orbital Debris After Disintegrating in Space".Retrieved22 March2023.