Long March 4C
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. 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.
Rendering of Long March 4C | |
| Function | Launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SAST |
| Country of origin | China |
| Size | |
| Height | 45.8 m (150 ft) |
| 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) |
| Payload to SSO | |
| Mass | 2,800 kg (6,200 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) |
| 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 | 53 |
| Success(es) | 51 |
| Failure(s) | 2 |
| First flight | 26 April 2006 |
| Last flight | 26 September 2023 |
| 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 |
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. The Long March 4C is derived from the Long March 4B, but features a restartable upper stage, and a larger payload fairing.
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.