Long March 4C

Rendering of Long March 4C
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	45.8 m (150 ft)[1]
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Mass	250,000 kg (550,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	4,200 kg (9,300 lb)[2]
Payload to SSO
Mass	2,800 kg (6,200 lb)[2]
Payload to GTO
Mass	1,500 kg (3,300 lb)[2]
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	TSLC, LA-7, LA-9 JSLC, LA-4/SLS-2 XSLC, LA-3
Total launches	59
Success(es)	57
Failure	2
First flight	26 April 2006
Last flight	17 April 2026 (most recent)
First stage
Height	27.91 m
Diameter	3.35 m
Propellant mass	182,000 kg (401,000 lb)
Powered by	4 YF-21C
Maximum thrust	2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,550 m/s (8,400 ft/s)
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Second stage
Height	10.9 m
Diameter	3.35 m
Propellant mass	52,700 kg (116,200 lb)
Powered by	1 YF-24C (1 x YF-22C (Main)) (4 x YF-23C (Vernier))
Maximum thrust	742.04 kN (166,820 lbf) (Main) 47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier)
Specific impulse	2,942 m/s (9,650 ft/s) (Main) 2,834 m/s (9,300 ft/s) (Vernier)
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Third stage
Height	14.79 m
Diameter	2.9 m
Propellant mass	14,000 kg (31,000 lb)
Powered by	2 YF-40A
Maximum thrust	100.85 kN (22,670 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,971 m/s (9,750 ft/s)
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH

The Long March 4C, also known as the Chang Zheng 4C, CZ-4C and LM-4C, previously designated Long March 4B-II, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. It is launched from the Jiuquan, Taiyuan, and Xichang Satellite Launch Centers, and consists of 3 stages. All stages use storable (rather than cryogenic) propellants.

The Long March 4C is derived from the 3 stage Long March 4B, but features a restartable third stage, and a larger payload fairing.

Launch summary

Long March 4C vehicles have been used to launch the Yaogan-1, Yaogan-3 synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites and the Fengyun-3A polar orbiting meteorological satellite. On 15 December 2009, a Long March 4C was used to launch Yaogan-8.^[3]

Because it was still designated as Long March 4B-II at the time of its maiden flight, the first launch is often mistaken for a Long March 4B.

On 1 September 2016, the Long March 4C failed for reasons not yet known. A Long March 4C rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi but failed to insert its payload, the Gaofen 10 satellite, into its designated orbit.^[4][5]

Launch statistics

List of launches

See also

• Long March 4B
• Long March (rocket family)
• Medium-lift launch vehicle

References

External links

• CZ-4C Long March Space Launch Vehicle GlobalSecurity.org