Long March 6A
Launch vehicle / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Long March 6A (Chinese: 长征六号甲运载火箭) or Chang Zheng 6A as in pinyin, abbreviated LM 6A for export or CZ 6A within China, is a Chinese launch vehicle of the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) [4] and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST).
Function | Launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology |
Country of origin | China |
Size | |
Height | 50 m (160 ft) |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Mass | 530,000 kg (1,170,000 lb) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to 700 km (430 mi) SSO | |
Mass | 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Long March |
Comparable | Antares Soyuz-2 |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | Taiyuan LA-9A |
Total launches | 5 |
Success(es) | 5 |
First flight | 29 March 2022 |
Last flight | 26 March 2024 |
Boosters | |
No. boosters | 4 |
Diameter | 2.0 m (6 ft 7 in) |
Maximum thrust | 1,214 kN (273,000 lbf) |
Total thrust | 4,828 kN (1,085,000 lbf) |
Propellant | solid |
First stage | |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Powered by | 2 YF-100 |
Maximum thrust | 2,376 kN (534,000 lbf) [1] |
Specific impulse | 300 seconds (sea level) 335 seconds (vacuum) [2] |
Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
Second stage | |
Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
Powered by | 1 YF-115 |
Maximum thrust | 180 kN (40,000 lbf) [1] |
Specific impulse | 341.5 seconds (vacuum) [3] |
Propellant | RP-1/LOX |
The vehicle is a further development of the Long March 6, with 2 YF-100 engines on the first stage as opposed to 1 on the Long March 6, augmented by 4 solid rocket boosters. The Long March 6A is China's first rocket with solid rocket boosters. There also exists a shorter boosterless variant of the 6A called the Long March 6C.
The maiden launch of the Long March 6A took place on March 29, 2022, successfully reaching orbit.[5] It was also the first launch from the newly built launch complex 9A in Taiyuan.