The Long March 6 (Chinese: 长征六号运载火箭) or Chang Zheng 6 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM 6 for export or CZ 6 within China, is a Chinese liquid-fuelled launch vehicle of the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) [7] and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The rocket was developed in the 2000s, and made its maiden flight in 2015.[8] As one of the new generation rocket family, the Long March 6 was designed to be a light capacity, "high-speed response" rocket, complementing the heavy lift Long March 5 and the mid-heavy lift Long March 7 rocket families. It is capable of placing at least 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of payload into a Sun-synchronous orbit.[9][8] The first stage of the Long March 6 was derived from the booster rockets being developed for the Long March 5 rocket. It is powered by a YF-100 engine, which generates 1,340 kN (300,000 lbf) of thrust from burning kerosene and LOX as rocket fuel and oxidiser.[8] This was the first flight of the new engine design.[3]
 Rendering of the Long March 6 launch vehicle | |
| Function | Small launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology[1] |
| Country of origin | China |
| Size | |
| Height | 29 m (95 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Mass | 103,000 kg (227,000 lb) |
| Stages | 3 [2] |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to 700 km (430 mi) SSO | |
| Mass | 1,080 kg (2,380 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Long March |
| Comparable | Minotaur-C, PSLV-CA |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Taiyuan, LA-16 |
| Total launches | 13 |
| Success(es) | 13 |
| First flight | 19 September 2015 [3] |
| Last flight | 22 October 2024 |
| First stage | |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Propellant mass | 61,000 kg (134,000 lb) to 76,000 kg (168,000 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 YF-100 |
| Maximum thrust | 1,188 kN (267,000 lbf) [4] |
| Specific impulse | 300 seconds (sea level) 335 seconds (vacuum) [5] |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Diameter | 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) |
| Propellant mass | 15,000 kg (33,000 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 YF-115 |
| Maximum thrust | 180 kN (40,000 lbf) [4] |
| Specific impulse | 341.5 seconds (vacuum) [6] |
| Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
| Third stage | |
| Diameter | 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) |
| Powered by | 1 |
| Maximum thrust | 6.5 kN (1,500 lbf) [4] |
| Specific impulse | 306.9 seconds |
| Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH[4] |
An enlarged variant, the Long March 6A, which has four strap-on solid boosters, an elongated stage one, a new stage two with the same diameter as the first stage, and a payload capacity of at least 4000 kg to Sun-synchronous orbit, made its maiden flight on 29 March 2022.[10] A further iteration named the Long March 6C with a slightly shorter length than the 6A and without the four strap-on solid boosters had its successful maiden launch on 7 May 2024.[11]
Launch statistics
edit- Failure
- Partial failure
- Success
- Planned
List of launches
edit
| Flight number | Serial number | Date (UTC) | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Y1 | 19 September 2015 23:01 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | ZDPS-2A, ZDPS-2B NS-2 ZJ-1, ZJ-2 Tiantuo 3 NUDT-Phone-Sat Xingchen 1/2/3/4 LilacSat 2 XY-2 DCBB Xiwang-2A/2B/2C/2E/2F |
SSO | Success[8] |
| 2 | Y2 | 21 November 2017 04:50 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Jilin 1-04/05/06 | SSO | Success |
| 3 | Y4 | 13 November 2019 06:35 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Ningxia-1 01 Ningxia-1 02 Ningxia-1 03 Ningxia-1 04 Ningxia-1 05 |
LEO | Success |
| 4 | Y3 | 6 November 2020 03:19 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | ÑuSat 9-18 (10 satellites) | SSO | Success |
| 5 | Y5 | 27 April 2021 03:20 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Qilu-1 Qilu-4 Foshan-1 Zhongan Guotong-1 Tianqi-9 Origin Space NEO-1 Tai King II 01 Golden Bauhinia-1 01 Golden Bauhinia-1 02 |
SSO | Success |
| 6 | Y6 | 9 July 2021 11:59 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Zhuzhou-1 01 Zhuzhou-1 02 Zhuzhou-1 03 Zhuzhou-1 04 Zhuzhou-1 05 |
LEO | Success |
| 7 | Y7 | 4 August 2021 11:01 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | KL-Beta A KL-Beta B |
Polar | Success |
| 8 | Y8 | 5 November 2021 02:19 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Guangmu-1 (CASEarth) | SSO | Success |
| 9 | Y10 | 10 August 2022 04:50 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Jilin-1 GF-03D09, 35-43 Yunyao-1 04–08 Tianjin Binghai-1 |
SSO | Success |
| 10 | Y9 | 26 September 2022 23:50 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Shiyan 16A Shiyan 16B Shiyan 17 |
SSO | Success |
| 11 | Y12 | 20 June 2023 03:18 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Shiyan 25 | SSO | Success |
| 12 | Y11 | 5 September 2024 18:30 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Geely Constellation Group 03 (10 sats) | LEO | Success |
| 13 | Y13 | 22 October 2024 00:10 |
Taiyuan, LA-16 | Tianping-3 A01 Tianping-3 B01 Tianping-3 B02 |
SSO | Success |
Lists of launches for the related Long March 6A and Long March 6C can be found in their respective Wikipedia pages.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "China conducts debut launch of Long March 6". NASASpaceflight. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- ^ "突破运力"下限"的长征6号" [Advances in Light Capacity Long March 6] (in Chinese). Tencent Military Channel. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ a b The Long March 6 launched a 20-star in Taiyuan to create the best in Asia Sept 2015
- ^ a b c d ZHANG Wei-dong, WANG Dong-bao (2016). "New Generation Cryogenic Quick Launching Launch Vehicle and Development". Aerospace Shanghai.
- ^ "Chinese YF-100 (Russian RD-120) to Power CZ-5". SPACEPAC, The Space Public Affairs Committee. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "中国新一代液氧煤油发动机3：YF100/115主要特性 - 深空网". www.shenkong.net (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Development of China's new "Changzheng 6" carrier rocket commences". People's Daily Online. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- ^ a b c d "China conducts debut launch of Long March 6". 19 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Long March 6 - Spaceflight101". Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "CZ-6 (Chang Zheng-6)". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ Jones, Andrew (7 May 2024). "China launches first Long March 6C rocket". spacenews.com. Retrieved 7 May 2024.