Chinese Space Launch Vehicles
Principal responsibility for the design and production of Chang Zheng (Long March) or CZ family launch vehicles lies with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology [CALT] and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology [SAST], both of which belong to the China Aerospace Corporation.
In 1985, the Chinese government announced that the Long March launch vehicle family would offer commercial satellite launch services for users both at home and abroad. The Long March commercial launch services are provided internationally through China Great Wall Industry Corporation ("CGWIC") with support from China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) and China Satellite Launch, and Control General (CLTC).
In April 1990, the LM-3 successfully launched the Asiasat-1 made by Hughes, which was the first time for the vehicle to carry out commercial satellite launch service. By June 1999, the LM launch vehicle family had conducted 23 commercial satellite launches and provided 5 piggyback services
As of June 1998 China had conducted 60 space launches, of which 49 were completly successful, with another 7 failing to reach orbit and 4 suffering post-launch failures. This failure rate is substantially higher than its primary Eurasian competitors: CIS, ESA, and Japan. Despite a relatively low domestic launch demand - typically 2-3 satellites annually - the PRC has developed and is expanding, in part for commercial reasons, a surprisingly diverse inventory of launch vehicles to support both LEO and GEO missions.
Between October 1996 and October 2003, the Long March launch vehicle family made 27 consecutive successful flights.
It is estimated that over 30 satellites and spaceships will be launched during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. Total 15 types of more than 30 satellites to be launched include communications, navigation, meteorological, resource remote sensing, space observation and other satellites. Since the first DFH 1 satellite was launched in April, 1970, China has sent 75 satellites into space, among which 48 satellites were indigenous and 27 were foreign satellites. The satellites to be launched during the Tenth Five-Year Plan almost account for half of the total satellites launched before.
Although the LM launch vehicle family has attracted worldwide attention, it still has anumber of deficiencies. There are too many types of vehicles, and this number should be reduced. Reliability is not high enough. As of 2000, the success rate of the LM launch vehicle family was 7th in among the 10 types of main launch vehicles in the world. The number of flights of the LM launch vehicle family is less as well. China needs to further enhance the reliability design including redundancy technology to improve the reliability. The launch preparation period is too long. The launch preparation period of the existing LM launch vehicles in the launch center is about 40 days, while the launch preparation period of internationally commercial launch is 15 days. And the system adaptability of the launch vehicles without high payload capability is not high.
A total of eight Long March carrier rockets were launched successfully in 2004, sending ten different satellites developed by China to the preset orbits. It is the first time for Long March rockets to be successfully launched eight times in one year, sending 10 satellites to the preset orbits with the success rate greatly improved. Long March rockets have been launched for 83 times so far. Since October 1996, the rockets have been successfully launched for 41 times consecutively, with the success rate reaching as high as 93%. Before 2004, the highest record of rocket launching in one year was recorded in 1998 and 2003 respectively, six times each. As for other years, the rockets were only launched for four or five times a year or even less.
The year of 2004 recorded the most types and the biggest numbers of satellites launched, the most new technologies applied and the best year in terms of in-orbit steady operation of satellites. China has developed many types of satellites in 2004, including resources satellite, retrievable satellite, scientific experiment satellite, scientific exploration satellite, meteorological satellite and small satellite. Of which, the smooth in-orbit running of Experimental Satellite No.2 has not only symbolized that the performance of small satellites made in China has perfectly reached the international advanced level, but is also of great significance for our country in terms of developing and mastering the cutting-edge technologies of small satellite platform and exploring new ways for the development of small satellite technologies.
