, stages = {{plainlist, * CZ-7: Two * CZ-7A: Three {{cite web, url=https://www.space.com/china-space-program-new-long-march-rockets.html, last=Jones, first=Andrew, title=China prepares to launch new rockets as part of push to boost space program, publisher=SPACE.com, date=14 February 2020, access-date=14 February 2020 , capacities = {{Infobox rocket/payload , location = LEO (200 x 400 km x 42°) , kilos = {{cvt, 13500, kg {{Infobox rocket/payload , location = GTO , kilos = {{cvt, 7000, kg {{Infobox rocket/payload , location = TLI , kilos = {{cvt, 5000, kg {{Infobox rocket/payload , location = SSO , altitude = {{cvt, 700, km , kilos = {{cvt, 5500, kg , family =

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...

, derivatives = , comparable =

Delta IV Delta IV is a group of five expendable launch systems in the Delta (rocket family), Delta rocket family introduced in the early 2000s. Originally designed by Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division for the National Security Space Launch, ...

Atlas V Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture be ...

Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon 9 Block 5 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable two-stage-to-orbit medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. It is the fifth version of Falcon 9 Full Thr ...

, GSLV Mk.III,

H-IIA H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar or ...

, status = Active , sites =

Wenchang Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of govern ...

, LC-2 , launches = 10 (7:6, 7A:4) , success = 9 (7:6, 7A:3) , fail = 1 (7:0, 7A:1) , partial = , other_outcome = , first = * Long March 7: 25 June 2016 * Long March 7A: 16 march 2020 , last = * Long March 7: 12 November 2022 * Long March 7A: 13 September 2022
(Both Active) , stagedata = {{Infobox rocket/stage , type = booster , diff = , name = K2 booster , number = 4 , length = {{cvt, 27, m , diameter = {{cvt, 2.25, m , empty = , gross = , propmass = , engines = 1

YF-100 The YF-100 is a Chinese liquid rocket engine burning LOX and kerosene in an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle. Development of the engine began in the 2000s, along with its sibling, the smaller YF-115, which would power the LM-6 and LM-7 ...

, thrust = SL: {{cvt, 1200, kN
Vac: {{cvt, 1340, kN , total = SL: {{cvt, 4800, kN
Vac: {{cvt, 5360, kN , SI = SL: {{cvt, 300, isp
Vac: {{cvt, 335, isp , burntime = , fuel =

RP-1 RP-1 (alternatively, Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as rocket fuel. RP-1 provides a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen (LH2), but is cheaper, is st ...

LOX Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an appli ...

{{Infobox rocket/stage , type = Stage , diff = , stageno = First , name =

K3 core module K3 may refer to: Transportation * China Railway K3/4 * K-3 (Kansas highway), a state highway in Kansas * London Bus route K3 * Taquan Air, an Alaskan commuter airline (by IATA code) * K-3 cart * Kia Forte, sold as Kia K3 in South Korea * LNE ...

, length = , diameter = {{cvt, 3.35, m , empty = , gross = , propmass = , engines = 2

, thrust = Sea level: {{cvt, 2400, kN
Vacuum: {{cvt, 2680, kN , total = , SI = Sea level: {{cvt, 300, isp
Vacuum: {{cvt, 335, isp , burntime = , fuel =

{{Infobox rocket/stage , type = Stage , diff = , stageno = Second , name = , length = , diameter = {{cvt, 3.35, m , empty = , gross = , propmass = , engines = 4

YF-115 The YF-115 is a Chinese liquid rocket engine burning LOX and kerosene in an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle. A high efficiency/high thrust environmental friendly rocket engine was always an objective within Programme 863. Development bega ...

, thrust = {{cvt, 706, kN , total = , SI = {{cvt, 342, isp , burntime = , fuel =

{{Infobox rocket/stage , type = Stage , diff = CZ-7A , stageno = Third , length = , diameter = {{cvt, 3.0, m , empty = {{cvt, 2800, kg , gross = {{cvt, 21000, kg , propmass = {{cvt, 18200, kg , engines = 2 ×

YF-75 The YF-75 is a liquid cryogenic rocket engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in a gas generator cycle. It is China's second generation of cryogenic propellant engine, after the YF-73, which it replaced. It is used in a dual engin ...

, thrust = {{cvt, 167.17, kN , SI = {{cvt, 4295, m/s, isp , burntime = 478 seconds , fuel = {{LH2 /

The Long March 7 ({{zh, c=长征七号运载火箭), or Chang Zheng 7 in

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

, abbreviated LM-7 for export or CZ-7 within China, originally Long March 2F/H or Chang Zheng 2F/H, nicknamed Bingjian ({{zh, c=冰箭, l=the Ice Arrow, labels=no), is a Chinese liquid-fuelled

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

of the Long March family, developed by the

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic ...

(CAST). It made its inaugural flight on 25 June 2016. Designed as a replacement of the

Long March 2F The Long March 2F ( ''Changzheng 2F''), also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian (, "Divine Arrow"), is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March ...

, Long March 7 and its variants are expected to be the workhorse of the fleet, eventually accounting for around 70% of all Chinese launches. Long March 7 will also play a critical role in the Chinese Space Station. It was used to launch the Tianzhou robotic cargo spacecraft, and will eventually replace the Long March 2F as China's crew-rated launch vehicle. Since 2020, in addition to the base Long March 7 configuration, there is the Long March 7A (CZ-7A etc.) variant which differs from the base CZ-7 by the addition of a

liquid hydrogen Liquid hydrogen (LH2 or LH2) is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form. To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point of 33 K. However, for it to be in a fully li ...

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...

third stage inherited from the third stage of the

Long March 3B The Long March 3B (, ''Chang Zheng 3B''), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocke ...

Launch Statistics

{{Graph:Chart, width=850, height=300, xAxisTitle=Year, yAxisTitle=Launches, legend=Outcome, type=stackedrect, x=2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022, y1=0,0,0,0,0,0,0 , y2=1,1,0,0,0,4,3 , y3=0,0,0,0,1,0,0 , y4=0,0,0,0,0,0,0 , y1Title=Planned, y2Title=Success, y3Title=Failure, y4Title=Partial Failure, colors=LightBlue, DarkGreen, FireBrick, Orange

History

The Long March 7 project started in 2008 with the formation of the development team within the traditional designer of space launch vehicles, CALT. With the acquisition of the

RD-120 The RD-120 (GRAU Index 11D123) is a liquid upper stage rocket engine burning RG-1 (refined kerosene) and LOX in an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle with an O/F ratio of 2.6. It is used in the second stage of the Zenit family of launch vehic ...

technology and development of the

and

engines, the original plan was to re-engine the

. The Long March 2F/H, as it would have been called, would "just" switch from N₂O₄ /

UDMH Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH; 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, НДМГ or codenamed Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is used as a rocket propellant. It is a colorless liquid, with a sharp, fishy, ammonia-like smell ...

to a

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

propellant and improved thrust engines to offer better performance. But the switch resulted in a cascade of changes that increased the project complexity significantly. At the same time, the original

Long March 5 Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle ...

project was expected to include heavy, medium and light versions. Since the Long March 2F/H and the medium Long March 5 had significant overlaps, it was decided to merge both projects. This way, the high reliability and flight legacy components and technologies of the Long March 2F were merged with the new technologies developed for the Long March 5. Although finished nearly at the same time, the Long March 6 was a completely separate product developed by a young team within

SAST South African Standard Time (SAST) is the time zone used by all of South Africa as well as Eswatini and Lesotho. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+02:00) and is the same as Central Africa Time. Daylight saving time is not observed in e ...

. As such, it shares little more than tank diameters and propulsion with the LM-5 and LM7, but does cover the range of payloads between the medium Long March 7 and the very light

Long March 11 The Long March 11 (), or Chang Zheng 11 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM-11 for export or CZ-11 within China (and designated 11H when launched from sea), is a Chinese four stage solid-propellant carrier rocket of the Long March family, which is ...

. In 2010, the project name was changed officially to Long March 7. According to the project deputy manager, Zhang Tao, the project required eleven new major technologies. But the innovation was not only at the product level, but one at the process itself. This was, according to the project manager, Wang Xiaojun, the first time the whole process was developed in digital 3D, using

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

directly to

computer-aided manufacturing Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as computer-aided modeling or computer-aided machining is the use of software to control machine tools in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most ...

. The inaugural flight was successfully performed on 25 June 2016, at 12:00 UTC from the

, LC-2 launch pad. It launched in the LM-7 configuration with the addition of the simultaneously debuting

Yuanzheng-1A Yuanzheng () is a restartable upper stage developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) for the Long March rocket family. The Yuanzheng stage enables the Chinese launch vehicles to deploy payloads directly to high-energy ...

upper stage; the flight performed its multi-orbit mission successfully. File:CZ-7.svg, Long March 7 graphic File:Maquette Longue Marche 7 DSC 0004.jpg, Long March 7 "Bingjian" model, 2015 Paris Air Show

Design

The Long March 7 is the medium-lift variant of a new generation rocket family that includes the heavier-lift

and the small-mid cargo

Long March 6 The Long March 6 () 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 Corpor ...

. The structure is based on the reliable,

man-rated Human-rating certification, also known as man-rating or crew-rating, is the certification of a spacecraft or launch vehicle as capable of safely transporting humans. There is no one particular standard for human-rating a spacecraft or launch veh ...

launch vehicle. It inherited the 3.35 m-diameter core stage and 2.25 m-diameter liquid rocket boosters. Where the earlier

Long March 2 Long March 2 rocket family or Chang Zheng 2 rocket family as in Chinese pinyin is an expendable launch system operated by the People's Republic of China. The rockets use the abbreviations LM-2 family for export, and CZ-2 family within Chi ...

rocket family used expensive and dangerous {{N2O4 /

propellants, the Long March 7 uses

and

. The engines are shared with the Long March 5 and 6. The goal was to build a more cost-effective and less hazardous rocket family to replace today's Long March 2 and eventually the Long March 3. It is capable of placing a {{cvt, 5500, kg payload into a

Sun-synchronous orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...

(SSO) of {{cvt, 700, km.

Stages

The Long March 7 inherits the modular stages of the original

project. As such, its first stage is the same module as the LM-5 boosters. It also shares tank diameters and engines with the

, but the design groups were completely different. The LM-5 and LM-7 were developed by

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is a major state-owned civilian and military space launch vehicle manufacturer in China and one of the major launch service providers in the world. CALT is a subsidiary of the larger China Ae ...

(CALT), while the LM-6 was done by

Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for ...

(SAST). Even the avionics are different. The basic Long March 7 can be optimized by varying the number of boosters or enhanced by the addition of upper stages. These stages allow more mission flexibility, like direct injection to higher orbits or multiple orbit deployment. They can also increase the performance significantly. Thanks to this modularity, performance can be dialed between {{cvt, 4000, kg and {{cvt, 13500, kg for LEO, {{cvt, 2000, kg and {{cvt, 8000, kg for SSO and {{cvt, 4000, kg and {{cvt, 7000, kg to

Geostationary transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellite, Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous orbit, geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into ...

(GTO).

Boosters

The Long March 7 can use 0, 2 or 4 boosters using

propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...

. They are powered by a single oxidizer-rich

staged combustion Staged combustion is a method used to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides ( NOx) during combustion. There are two methods for staged combustion: air staged supply and fuel staged supply. Applications of staged combustion include boilers and ro ...

engine. Each boosters supplies {{cvt, 1200, kN at sea level and {{cvt, 1340, kN in vacuum of thrust. Its

specific impulse Specific impulse (usually abbreviated ) is a measure of how efficiently a reaction mass engine (a rocket using propellant or a jet engine using fuel) creates thrust. For engines whose reaction mass is only the fuel they carry, specific impulse i ...

is {{cvt, 300, isp at sea level and {{cvt, 335, isp in vacuum. Each module has its own single axis

thrust vector control Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the ve ...

, and thus it required a special design in the control systems of the rocket to coordinate all the rocket's nozzles. They use the legacy {{cvt, 2.25, m width of the

and

Long March 3 The Long March 3 (), also known as the Changzheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. They were all launched from Launch Area 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It was a three-stage rocket, and was mostly used ...

families, but due to the increased thrust of the

with respect to the

YF-20 The YF-20 is a Chinese liquid-fuel rocket engine burning N2O4 and UDMH in a gas generator cycle. It is a basic engine which when mounted in a four engine module forms the YF-21. The high altitude variation is known as the YF-22 is normally pair ...

and YF-25, the boosters are almost twice as long, at {{cvt, 27, m. A Long March 7 rocket booster created a fireball visible from portions of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on the evening of 27 July 2016; its disintegration was widely reported on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, and the uncontrolled re-entry of such a five-ton object was regarded as a rare event.{{cite web , url=http://www.space.com/33581-amazing-fireball-from-chinese-rocket-space-junk-video.html, title=Amazing Fireball Over Western US Caused by Chinese Space Junk, publisher=SPACE.com, date=2016-07-28, access-date=2016-07-28, author=Mike, Wall

First stage

The first stage has {{cvt, 3.35, m diameter tanks carrying RP-1/LOX propellant. It is powered by two YF-100 engines, sharing the same propulsion elements as the boosters, only that for the first stage the engines can gimbal in two axes. Also, this first stage is the same basic module as the

boosters. The diameter was designed for land transport and as such, it will be able to launch from all the Chinese launch sites. This is a critical difference to the LM-5 that requires water transport for its core stages. While it shares diameter and engines with the

first stage, the development was completely separated and done by different groups.

Second stage

The second stage also shares the first {{cvt, 3.35, m diameter tanks and propellant. It is powered by four oxidizer-rich staged combustion RP-1/LOX

engines. Two are fixed and two can gimbal in two axis. It offers {{cvt, 706, kN of thrust in vacuum with a specific impulse of {{cvt, 341.5, isp. While it shares engines with the Long March 6 second stage, the development were completely separated and done by different groups.

Optional stages

Yuanzheng-1A

It can use the

upper stage to increase payload to higher energy orbits and enable multiple ignition missions. Particularly, allows direct injection to SSO orbits. The inaugural flight successfully used this upper stage to deliver multiple payloads to different orbits.

Hydrogen stage

The Long March 7 is expected to be enhanced by a high-energy

and

stage. This stage and the low inclination of Wenchang would enable to launch payload between {{cvt, 4000, kg and {{cvt, 7000, kg to

(GTO) orbit. That would be a 25% increase with respect to the previously most powerful Chinese launcher, the

, but well below the

. The Long March 7A variant, active since March 2020, accomplishes just this enhancement; it is made of the initial two stages of Long March 7, with a third stage powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. In the 2013 presentation of variations, a hydrogen-powered stage was also used as a second stage. It was not clear if it would be the same stage used as the second stage or a different stage. In both cases (second and third stage) they would be powered by the

or the

YF-75D The YF-75D is a liquid-fuel rocket, liquid cryogenic rocket engine, cryogenic rocket engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in a closed Expander cycle (rocket), expander cycle. It is China's third generation of upper stage cryogenic fue ...

Solid boosters

The 2013 presentation of the variation also proposed smaller {{cvt, 2, m diameter solid boosters as a cheaper option for smaller payloads.

Avionics

After the inaugural flight, Song Zhengyu, Deputy Chief Control Systems Designer for the Long March 7 project, stated that the flight had proven indigenous

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

. They had to work with the local industry to develop space rated dual processor PLCs. It was also stated that the

real-time operating system A real-time operating system (RTOS) is an operating system (OS) for real-time applications that processes data and events that have critically defined time constraints. An RTOS is distinct from a time-sharing operating system, such as Unix, which m ...

was also an indigenous development. The general design was based on a

distributed architecture A distributed system is a system whose components are located on different networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to one another from any system. Distributed computing is a field of computer sci ...

to enable

scalability Scalability is the property of a system to handle a growing amount of work by adding resources to the system. In an economic context, a scalable business model implies that a company can increase sales given increased resources. For example, a ...

and

fault tolerance Fault tolerance is the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of one or more faults within some of its components. If its operating quality decreases at all, the decrease is proportional to the ...

. This avionics would be the base for most future developments and had been designed with

reusability In computer science and software engineering, reusability is the use of existing ''assets'' in some form within the software product development process; these ''assets'' are products and by-products of the software development life cycle and in ...

in mind.

2013 proposed variations

In a paper published on the ''Manned Spaceflight'' publication of the CMSEO, the Long March 7 was presented as a family of launch vehicles. The variations would be codified by a two number plus variable letters code, and a CZ-7 prefix in the form CZ-7##. The first digit would mean the number of stages in the core, which could be either 2 or 3. The second number would mean the number of boosters, which could be 0, 2 or 4, with an S appended if the boosters were of solid type. There was also proposed an alternative second stage powered by the LH/

propellant and dual

engines would be identified by appending an (HO) to the designation. At last, it could have an additional upper stage, later identified as the

, that would be identified by appending to the designation /SM. For example, the version that debuted was codified under this nomenclature as the ''CZ-724/SM'', since it had two

core stages, four liquid boosters and was enhanced by the Yuanzheng-1A stage. A ''CZ-720'' would have two RP-1/LOX stages and no boosters. A ''CZ-724S(HO)'' would have a RP-1/LOX first stage, a LH/LOX second stage and four solid boosters. A ''CZ-732'' would have two RP-1/LOX stages, a LH/LOX third stage, and two liquid boosters. The paper expected the following performance from certain versions. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - style="background:#ffdead;" ! Version ! LEO ! SSO ! GTO , - , CZ-720 , 2000 kg , – , , - , CZ-722 , 7500 kg , 1300 kg , , - , CZ-724 , 13500 kg , 5500 kg , , - , CZ-720/SM , , 1000 kg , , - , CZ-722/SM , , 4500 kg , , - , CZ-724/SM , , 8500 kg , , - , CZ-722S/SM , , 1800 kg , , - , CZ-724S/SM , , 3900 kg , , - , CZ-730 , , , 1200 kg , - , CZ-732 , , , 4500 kg , - , CZ-734 , , , 7000 kg , - , CZ-720(HO) , 5500 kg , 2900 kg , 1500 kg , - , CZ-722S(HO) , 7500 kg , 4400 kg , 2400 kg , - The paper also presented the propulsion options for each stage. The

second stage had only two

instead of the normal four, when used in the version with no boosters. It might have implied a different smaller upper stage or an under filled one. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - style="background:#ffdead;" ! Version ! Boosters ! 1st Stage ! 2nd Stage ! 3rd Stage ! Maneuver Stage , - , CZ-720 , 0 ,

× 2 ,

× 2 , / , / , - , CZ-722 , 2.25 m liquid × 2 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , / , / , - , CZ-724 , 2.25 m liquid × 4 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , / , / , - , CZ-720/SM , 0 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 2 , / ,

YF-50 Yuanzheng () is a restartable upper stage developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) for the Long March rocket family. The Yuanzheng stage enables the Chinese launch vehicles to deploy payloads directly to high-energy o ...

× 1 , - , CZ-722/SM , 2.25 m liquid × 2 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , / , YF-50 × 1 , - , CZ-724/SM , 2.25 m liquid × 4 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , / , YF-50 × 1 , - , CZ-722S/SM , 2 m solid × 2 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , / , YF-50 × 1 , - , CZ-724S/SM , 2 m solid × 4 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , / , YF-50 × 1 , - , CZ-720(HO) , 0 , YF-100 × 2 ,

× 2 , / , / , - , CZ-722(HO) , 2.25 m liquid × 2 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-75 × 2 , / , / , - , CZ-724(HO) , 2.25 m liquid × 4 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-75 × 2 , / , / , - , CZ-722S(HO) , 2 m solid × 2 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-75 × 2 , / , / , - , CZ-724S(HO) , 2 m solid × 4 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-75 × 2 , / , / , - , CZ-730 , 0 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 2 , YF-75 × 2 , / , - , CZ-732 , 2.25 m liquid × 2 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , YF-75 × 2 , / , - , CZ-734 , 2.25 m liquid × 4 , YF-100 × 2 , YF-115 × 4 , YF-75 × 2 , / , -

CZ-7A variant

Since 2020, the base two-stage CZ-7 configuration has been supplemented by the CZ-7A variant. This variant employs the boosters and the first two stages of the base configuration, and add to this a third stage that employs two cryogenic

engines operating on {{LH2 and

liquid fuels; the third stage of the 7A variant is inherited from the third stage of the

. (Note that the 7A variant is similar to the CZ-73X variants first proposed in 2013; see previous subsection). The maiden CZ-7A was launched on 16 March 2020 at 13:34 UTC from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island. Two hours after launch, state news sources announced that the flight ended in failure; no causes for the failure were indicated initially. Launch preparations for the maiden flight continued in the weeks prior to launch despite measures taken to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus in China.{{cite web , url=https://spacenews.com/launch-of-chinas-new-long-march-7a-ends-in-failure/, last=Jones, first=Andrew, title=Launch of China's new Long March 7A ends in failure, publisher=SpaceNews, date=16 March 2020, access-date=16 March 2020 In 2021, some observers speculated, based on unconfirmed Chinese

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the la ...

posts, that the failure of the CZ-7A's maiden flight was caused by the loss of pressurization in one of its four boosters just prior to ''main engine cutoff'' and the ''

staging Staging may refer to: Computing * Staging (cloud computing), a process used to assemble, test, and review a new solution before it is moved into production and the existing solution is decommissioned * Staging (data), intermediately storing data ...

'' of the first stage (about 168 seconds into the flight). The second CZ-7A launched successfully from Wenchang on 11 March 2021.{{cite web, date=March 2021, first=Hanneke , last=Weitering, title=China's Long March 7A rocket launches on 1st successful flight, url=https://www.space.com/china-long-march-7a-rocket-first-launch-success, access-date=2021-03-13, publisher=SPACE.com The launch vehicle carried the Shiyan-9 satellite to test new technologies such as space environmental monitoring, according to the

(CASC).{{cite web, author=Jessie Yeung, title=China successfully launches Long March 7A rocket after failed first attempt, url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/12/asia/china-long-march-7a-launch-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html, publisher=CNN, access-date=2021-03-13

List of launches

{{main, List of Long March launches {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !, Flight number !, Date ( UTC) !, Variant !, Launch site !, Upper stage !, Payload !, Orbit !, Result !, Notes !, References , - , , Y1 , , 25 June 2016
12:00 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , YZ-1A , , * Next-Generation Crew Capsule Scale Model * Star of Aoxiang * Aolong-1 * Tiange-1 * Tiange-2 , , LEO , {{success , , , , , - , , Y2 , , 20 April 2017
11:41 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , None , ,

Tianzhou 1 Tianzhou 1 () was the debut mission of the Tianzhou-class unmanned cargo spacecraft. It was developed as part of the manned space program of China. Tianzhou means "heavenly vessel" in Chinese. On 20 April 2017, Tianzhou 1 was launched by rocke ...

, , LEO , {{success , , , , , - , , 7A-Y1 , , 16 March 2020
13:34 , , 7A , ,

, LC-2 , , None , , XJY-6-01 , , GTO , {{Failure , , , , , - , , 7A-Y2 , , 11 March 2021
17:51 , , 7A , ,

, LC-2 , , None , , Shiyan 9 , , GTO , {{success , , , , , - , , Y3 , , 29 May 2021
12:55 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , None , ,

Tianzhou 2 Tianzhou 2 () was a mission of the Tianzhou-class unmanned cargo spacecraft. The launch took place at 29 May 2021, 12:55:29 UTC. The spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong space station later on the same day. Mission profile Tia ...

, , LEO , {{Success , , , , , - , , Y4 , , 20 September 2021
07:10 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , None , ,

Tianzhou 3 Tianzhou 3 () was a mission of the Tianzhou-class uncrewed cargo spacecraft, launched on 20 September 2021, at 07:10:11 UTC. Like previous Tianzhou missions, the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, China o ...

, , LEO , {{Success , , , , , - , , 7A-Y3 , , 23 December 2021
10:12 , , 7A , ,

, LC-2 , , None , , Shiyan 12-01
Shiyan 12-02 , , GTO , {{Success , , , , , - , , Y5 , , 9 May 2022
17:56:37 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , None , ,

Tianzhou 4 Tianzhou 4 () was the fourth mission of the Tianzhou-class unmanned cargo spacecraft, and the third resupply mission to Tiangong Space Station carrying 5 tons of cargos and 1 ton of propellant. It is the largest load capacity cargo spacecraft t ...

, , LEO , {{Success , , , , , - , , 7A-Y5 , , 13 September 2022
13:18 , , 7A , ,

, LC-2 , , None , , ChinaSat 1E , , GTO , {{Success , , , , , - , , Y6 , , 12 November 2022
02:03:12 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , None , , Tianzhou 5 , , LEO , {{Success , , , , {{cite tweet, number=1515851790499008513, user=CNSpaceflight, title=Key takeaways from the press conference: 7 launches in total from Wenchang
..br />07/24 CZ5B Wentian
08/.. CZ7A ❓
10/.. CZ5B Mengtian
11/.. CZ7 Tianzhou-5
12/.. CZ7A ❓
2 crewed launches from Jiuquan
06/05 SZ14
12/.. SZ15, author=China Spaceflight, date=18 April 2022, access-date=18 April 2022 , - , , 7A-Y4 , , 9 January 2023 , , 7A , ,

, LC-2 , , None , , Shijian 23 , , GTO , {{Planned , , , , {{cite tweet , number=1604495055149858817 , author=China Spaceflight , user=CNSpaceflight , title=The next Long March 7A launch planned in December has been postponed to January 09, 2023. The rocket has been recently transported to Wenchang , date=18 December 2022 , access-date=18 December 2022 , - , , Y7 , , April 2023 , , 7 , ,

, LC-2 , , None , ,

Tianzhou 6 Tianzhou or Tian Zhou may refer to: * Tianzhou (spacecraft), automated cargo vessel derivative of ''Tiangong-1'' ** Tianzhou 1, 2017 mission of the Tianzhou spacecraft * Tianzhou language * Tianzhou (田州镇 tián-zhōu-zhèn), a town in Tianyan ...

, , LEO , {{Planned , , , ,

References

{{Portal, Spaceflight {{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite web, url=http://www.calt.com/n482/n743/c5776/content.html, script-title=zh:未来，长征七号火箭将"挑大梁", trans-title=Long March 7 to play the leading role in the future , publisher=China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, website=calt.com, date=2016-06-28, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-30 {{cite web, url=http://cmse.gov.cn/news/show.php?itemid=5507, script-title=zh:控制系统多项"国产化"技术护航长七首飞成功, trans-title=Successful maiden flight of the Long March 7 demonstrate indigenous avionics, publisher=China Manned Space Engineering Office, website=cmse.gov.cn, date=2016-06-27, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-29, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914060224/http://cmse.gov.cn/news/show.php?itemid=5507, archive-date=2016-09-14 {{cite journal, last=Fan, first=Ruixiang, last2=Rong, first2=Yi, date=2013, script-title=zh:代中型运载火箭的发展展望, trans-title=Our prospective next-generation medium launch vehicle development, url=http://www.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?filename=ZRHT201301003&dbname=cjfqtotal&dbcode=CJFQ&v=MDE4Njk5TE1ybzlGWjRSNkRnOC96aFlVN3pzT1QzaVFyUmN6RnJDVVJMeWZZZVJ1RnlEbVc3ekJQei9EZXJHNEg= , journal=载人航天 anned Spaceflightpublisher=China Manned Space Engineering Office, volume=2013, issue=2013, 01, doi=10.16329/j.cnki.zrht.2013.01.009, issn=1674-5825, language=zh, access-date=June 30, 2016 {{cite web, url=http://www.guokr.com/article/441240/, title=2016年，还有哪些航天大事值得期待？{{! 科学人 {{! 果壳网科技有意思, trans-title=What aerospace event to look for in 2016 , date=2016-03-03, website=guokr.com, access-date=2016-04-27, language=zh, quote=长征七号火箭原名长征二号F/H，最初可以看做长征二号F火箭换用YF-100和YF-115液氧煤油发动机的产物，但在实际研制中它应用了全数字化设计手段，代表了我国60年来运载火箭研制的最高水平 {{cite web, url=http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/2016/copuos2016tech20E.pdf, last=Ping, first=Wu, title=China Manned Space Programme: Its Achievements and Future Developments , publisher=China Manned Space Agency, date=June 2016, access-date=2016-06-28 {{cite web, url=http://news.qq.com/a/20131219/013441_all.htm, script-title=zh:突破运力"下限"的长征6号, trans-title=Advances in Light Capacity Long March 6, publisher=Tencent Military Channel , access-date=2015-08-03, language=zh, date=2013-12-19 {{cite web, url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/06/china-debuts-long-march-7-rocket/, title=China successfully debuts Long March 7 – Recovers capsule, last=Barbosa, first=Rui C. , publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com, date=2016-06-25, access-date=2015-07-02 {{cite web, url=http://sinodefence.com/rocketry/cz-7/, title=Chang Zheng-7 (Long March-7), publisher=SinoDefence, access-date=2015-07-02 {{cite web, url=http://www.spacechina.com/n25/n144/n206/n214/c1339839/content.html, script-title=zh:长征七号首飞成功空间实验室任务大幕拉开, trans-title=Successful maiden flight of the Long March 7 mission Damulakai, website=spacechina.com, date=2016-06-25, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-25 {{cite web, url=http://zhuanti.spacechina.com/n1318695/n1319534/n1319625/c1338233/content.html, script-title=zh:8年历程拓荒与先行, trans-title=The Eight Year Tale of Pioneer and Leading, website=spacechina.com, date=2016-06-25, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-27 {{cite web, url=http://zhuanti.spacechina.com/n1318695/n1319534/n1319625/c1338257/content.html, script-title=zh:正式更名迈出新一步, trans-title=Change of official name for a new step, website=spacechina.com, date=2016-06-25, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-27 {{cite web, url=http://zhuanti.spacechina.com/n1318695/n1319534/n1319625/c1338695/content.html, script-title=zh:立项论证平地起高楼, trans-title=Demonstration project launches , website=spacechina.com, date=2016-06-25, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-27 {{cite web, url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2016-06/27/c_129091627.htm, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822152142/http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2016-06/27/c_129091627.htm, url-status=dead, archive-date=22 August 2016, script-title=zh:长征七号搭载的缩比返回舱成功着陆, trans-title=Scaled down return capsule that launched by the Long March-7 has landed successfully, website=xinhuanet.com, date=2016-06-27, language=zh, access-date=2016-06-27 {{commons category, Long March 7 {{Long March rockets {{Chinese launch systems {{Expendable launch systems {{China space station Long March (rocket family) Vehicles introduced in 2016 2016 in China 2016 in technology