Long March (rocket family)

Long March (Chinese长征, Pinyin Changzheng, abbreviated as CZ ( Chang Zheng ) ), is the collective name of the Chinese launchers, which is derived from the military strategy of Mao Zedong march against the government of the Kuomintang. Responsible for the development and coordination of the program, the China National Space Administration ( CNSA ).

Start centers

Currently, three starting centers for the various Long March rockets are used:

• For geostationary satellites: the Baikonur Xichang in Sichuan Province.
• For satellites in sun-synchronous polar orbits: the Baikonur Taiyuan in Shanxi Province
• For satellites in orbits with moderate orbital inclination and for manned flights of the Shenzhou spacecraft: the Baikonur Jiuquan in Gansu Province

Models

There are several models of the launcher, which partly come from completely different directions of development ( within a range). The rockets are a natural development of the People 's Republic of China, partly based on the technology of Soviet missiles in the 1960s and 1970s.

The CNSA has the following designations awarded (CZ names are with the corresponding LM- equivalent terms ):

• CZ -1 series with the models CZ -1 and CZ -1D - easy launcher ( LEO payload 0.75 t)
• CZ- 2 series with the models CZ -2C, CZ -2D, CZ -2E and CZ- 2F - light to medium duty, two or three stage also manned launchers ( LEO payload 3,5 t 2C, 2E / F 8,5 t )
• CZ -3 series with the models CZ -3, CZ -3A, CZ -3B and CZ -3C - moderate three-stage launchers for GTO ( payload 1.5 tons (CZ -3) .. 5.2 t (CZ -3B ) ) and interplanetary orbits
• CZ -4 series with the models CZ -4, CZ -4B and CZ -4C - moderate three-stage launch vehicles for polar and sun-synchronous orbits ( LEO payload 2,8 t .. 4.5 t)
• CZ -5 series - Project of a family of moderate to severe launchers like the Delta IV, Atlas V or Angara
• CZ -6 series - project a light launcher, its a modified version of the smaller CZ -5 booster used as the first stage. You should bring especially smaller payloads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes into a sun-synchronous orbit.
• CZ -7 Series - project a number of medium-sized launchers that a modified variant of the larger CZ -5 booster used as the first stage.

On October 15, 2003, succeeded the People's Republic of China to bring a carrier rocket " Long March 2F" (CZ -2F or LM- 2F) the spaceship Shenzhou 5 with the taikonauts Yang Liwei on board in an orbit around the Earth. This makes China the third country after the Soviet Union and the USA, which operates independently manned flights with self-developed missiles.

The accidents in 1995 and 1996 and the impact on the development

The currently strongest version, the Long March 3B ( CZ- 3B and LM -3B ), which is designed specifically for the transport of communications satellites in Geotransferbahnen. This rocket is offered at a relatively low price in the international satellite launch market, but so far could get a few starting jobs, as the U.S. sanctioned the importation of U.S. satellite technology to China.

The official reason for the ban are the in 1995 and 1996 occurred false starts a CZ- 2E and CZ -3B, as the missiles smashing each case shortly after takeoff from a nearby village and detonated over the launch site and many people perished. Despite extensive studies on the cause ( partly under the help of American specialists ), the respective amount of accidents was downplayed. The defects found were parked meticulously and so the series were then reliable. However, this was interpreted by the Ministry of Defense of the United States as a dangerous development, after which they tried to limit sanctions to further export of western satellite technology. Thus, the false starts were also part of the official justification for the subsequent perennial radical intensification of the technology sanctions against China by the U.S., which made it for years Western clients almost impossible to let launch their satellites with these missiles, as almost all satellites U.S. components contained. At the same time as an advantage for the domestic satellite launch market was created.

Future Development

In the context of some press conferences after the successful second manned spaceflight of the Shenzhou 6 said, on October 16, 2005 Sun Laiyan, a director of the Chinese National Space Agency CNSA on "Development of Chinese launchers ." Be it a payload of 25 t mass in low Earth orbit and 14 tons into geostationary orbit to transport destination. Thus, the number of missiles is meant the type " Long March 5", which are similar to use of the Ariane 5 is a high-energy, liquid hydrogen (LH2 ) and liquid oxygen (LOX ) fired central stage.

In June 2007, China announced its intention to increase the capacity of the planned launch vehicles of the series t from 9.5 to 25.