This is a list of launches made by the Long March rocket family. Launch attempts aborted or scrubbed before liftoff, including ones such as the attempt to launch a

Long March 2E The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket from the Long March 2 family. The Long March 2E was a three-stage carrier rocket that was designed to launch commercial communications sa ...

with Optus B1 on 22 March 1992, where the engines were ignited but shut down on the pad, are not included. Launches made with the related Feng Bao 1

carrier rocket A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistag ...

are not included. Due to the size of the list, it has been split into several smaller articles: * List of Long March launches (1970–1979) * List of Long March launches (1980–1989) * List of Long March launches (1990–1999) * List of Long March launches (2000–2009) * List of Long March launches (2010–2019) * List of Long March launches (2020–2024) * List of Long March launches (2025–2029)

Launch statistics

Rockets from the Long March family have accumulated a total of 582 launches . Of these, 563 were successful, 10 were failures, and 9 were partial failures. The cumulative success rate is . Note that the statistics listed in this paragraph are correct having been sourced from CNSA launch announcement; in addition, the annual numbers of launches listed in following bar chart is also correct. However, the tables of launches in the linked decadal lists may have errors of omission for the years prior to 2020.

Anomalies and failures

A success is a launch that deploys all payloads into the correct orbit without damage. The launch vehicle may experience an anomaly that does not affect the mission. The payload may experience an anomaly that was not caused by the launch. * On 29 November 1994, the

Long March 3A The Long March 3A (), 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 geosynch ...

successfully deployed Chinasat-5 into

geostationary transfer orbit In space mission design, a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or geosynchronous transfer orbit is a highly elliptical type of geocentric orbit, usually with a perigee as low as low Earth orbit (LEO) and an apogee as high as geostationary orbit ...

. However, the satellite failed to reach geostationary orbit due to a propellant leak. * On 3 November 2016, the

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

experienced an anomaly in the second stage, failing to deploy the stack into the correct geostationary transfer orbit. However, the third stage was able to compensate for the performance shortfall with a longer burn. A partial failure is a launch that reaches orbit, but at least one payload was not deployed into the correct orbit or suffered damage. After a partial failure, a satellite may operate at reduced functionality or with a reduced lifetime. A common type of partial failure occurs when a satellite is deployed into a lower than intended orbit. The satellite can maneuver with its own propulsion system to reach the correct orbit, but this reduces the fuel available for station-keeping and shortens its operational life. * On 29 January 1984, the maiden launch of the

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 ...

failed to reach

. * On 28 December 1991, the

failed to deploy DFH-2A-4 ( ChinaSat 4) into geostationary transfer orbit. * On 21 December 1992, the

experienced a structural failure of the payload fairing, destroying the Optus B2 communications satellite. The satellite's debris reached the correct orbit. * On 28 November 1995, the

damaged

AsiaSat 2 AsiaSat 2 was a Hong Kong communications satellite, which was owned, and was initially operated, by the Hong Kong–based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company. It was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 17° East of the Gr ...

by subjecting it to excessive forces during the launch. The satellite was unable to broadcast to its full coverage area. * On 18 August 1996, the

failed to deploy

ChinaSat 7 ChinaSat () is the brand name of communications satellites operated by China Satellite Communications. History In 2007, a joint venture China Direct Broadcast Satellite was formed to run the brand ChinaSat. It was a joint venture of state ...

into geostationary transfer orbit. * On 31 August 2009, the

Long March 3B The Long March 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 rocket with four strap-on ...

failed to deploy

Palapa-D Palapa-D was an Indonesian geostationary communications satellite which was operated by Indosat Ooredoo. It was built by Thales Alenia Space, based on the Spacebus, Spacebus-4000B3 satellite bus, and carries 35 C band (IEEE), C-band and 5 Ku ban ...

into geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite reached the intended orbit with its own propulsion system. * On 28 December 2016, the

Long March 2D The Long March 2D (), also known as the Chang Zheng 2D, CZ-2D, and LM-2D, is a Chinese two-stage orbital carrier rocket mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites. It is manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology ( ...

failed to deploy the payloads into

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 ...

. The primary payloads reached the correct orbit with their own propulsion systems, but the secondary payload had no propulsion system and reentered two months later. * On 18 June 2017, the

failed to deploy ChinaSat 9A into geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite maneuvered 10 times over a one-month period to reach the correct orbit. * On 13 March 2024, the

Long March 2C The Long March 2C (LM-2C), also known as the Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C), is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Developed and manufactured by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the Long M ...

failed to deploy the DRO-A and DRO-B satellites into the planned trans-lunar injection orbit because of a failure of the YZ-1A upper stage. The satellites however were able to reach their intended

Distant Retrograde Orbit A distant retrograde orbit (DRO), as most commonly conceived, is a spacecraft orbit around a moon>M2>>M3. So DRO is a general three-body problem solution. It's just that most practical near-term uses for the concept at three-body problems in our ...

around the Moon under their own power and are operating normally. A failure is a launch that does not deploy it into earth orbit. * On 5 November 1974, the

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 ...

lost control during its maiden launch. * On 25 January 1995, the

experienced another structural failure in the payload fairing, destroying the

Apstar 2 APstar 2 (Asia-Pacific Star 2) was a communications satellite based on the Hughes HS-601 spacecraft design, built by Hughes Space and Communications Company for APT Satellite Holdings, a Hong Kong–based company. The satellite was intended to ...

communications satellite. * On 14 February 1996, the

lost its guidance platform and veered off course, hitting a nearby village and killing at least 6 people. * On 18 August 2011, the

lost attitude control. * On 9 December 2013, the

Long March 4B The Long March 4B (), also known as the Chang Zheng 4B, CZ-4B, and LM-4B, is a Chinese expendable orbit, orbital launch vehicle. Launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, it is a 3-stage launch vehicle, used mostly ...

experienced an early shutdown of its third stage and failed to reach orbit. * On 31 August 2016, the

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 ...

failed to reach orbit. * On 2 July 2017, the

experienced an anomaly in its first stage and failed to reach orbit. * On 22 May 2019, the

failed to reach orbit due to a problem with its third stage. * On 16 March 2020, the first

Long March 7A The Long March 7 (), or Chang Zheng 7 in pinyin, abbreviated LM-7 for export or CZ-7 within China, originally Long March 2F/H or Chang Zheng 2F/H, nicknamed Bingjian (), is a Chinese liquid-fuel rocket, liquid-fuelled launch vehicle of the Long ...

failed to reach orbit. * On 9 April 2020, the

failed to reach orbit with the Palapa-N1 (Nusantara Dua) satellite due to third stage failure.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Space exploration lists and timelines Space program of the People's Republic of China

Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...