Long March 3A
Rendering of Long March 3A | |
| Function | Carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | CALT |
| Country of origin | China |
| Cost per launch | US$70 million |
| Size | |
| Height | 52.52 metres (172.3 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.35 metres (11.0 ft) |
| Mass | 241,000 kilograms (531,000 lb) |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 8,500 kilograms (18,700 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 2,600 kilograms (5,700 lb) |
| Payload to HCO | |
| Mass | 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Long March |
| Derivative work | Long March 3B Long March 3C |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | LA-2 & LA-3, XSLC |
| Total launches | 27 |
| Success(es) | 27 |
| First flight | 8 February 1994 |
| Last flight | 9 July 2018 |
| First stage | |
| Height | 23.272 m |
| Diameter | 3.35 m |
| Propellant mass | 171,800 kg (378,800 lb) |
| Powered by | 4 YF-21C |
| Maximum thrust | 2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 2,556.5 m/s (260.69 s) |
| Burn time | 148 s |
| Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
| Second stage | |
| Height | 11.276 m |
| Diameter | 3.35 m |
| Propellant mass | 32,600 kg (71,900 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 YF-24E (1 x YF-22E (Main)) (4 x YF-23C (Vernier)) |
| Maximum thrust | 742 kN (167,000 lbf) (Main) 47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier) |
| Specific impulse | 2,922.57 m/s (298.019 s) (Main) 2,910.5 m/s (296.79 s) (Vernier) |
| Burn time | 115 s |
| Propellant | N2O4 / UDMH |
| Third stage | |
| Height | 12.375 m |
| Diameter | 3.0 m |
| Propellant mass | 18,200 kg (40,100 lb) |
| Powered by | 2 YF-75 |
| Maximum thrust | 167.17 kN (37,580 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 4,295 m/s (438.0 s) |
| Burn time | 475 s |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
The Long March 3A (Chinese: 长征三号甲火箭), also known as the Chang Zheng 3A, CZ-3A and LM-3A, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. It is a 3-stage rocket, and is usually used to place communications satellites and Beidou navigation satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits.
It has formed the basis of the Long March 3B, which is a heavier version with four liquid booster rockets.