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Chinese Space Launch Vehicles

Wan Hu, a local official in the 16th century Ming Dynasty, dreamed of space travel while gazing at the stars in the night sky. After much thought, he made a 'chair rocket' with 47 gunpowder barrels attached. He refined his clothes and tied himself to a chair. He then ordered his servants to light the fuse. A moment later, a huge explosion sound followed by sparks. After the smoke that covered the yard disappeared, neither Wanhoo nor the chair disappeared without a trace. No one has seen Wan-hu since that day.

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. The expendable rocket that China relies upon for its space program is the Long March family. This family developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology launched its first satellite in 1970.

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 was estimated that over 30 satellites and spaceships would 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.

In November 1999, the first unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou 1, lifted off aboard a Long March rocket. Four years later, a proud moment for the Chinese nation occurred on 15 October 2003 when a Long March 2F (CZ-2F) rocket successfully launched the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft with Yang Liwei aboard. This landmark mission was the first time China had sent a man into space, putting it in an elite group alongside the USA and Russia.

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 was 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 was not high.

The Long March New Generation Launch Vehicle [NGLV] series began development in 2000. For the new generation of space launch vehicle China plans to develop one series, two kinds of engines and three modules. That means, China will take the LOX/kerosene and LOX/LH engines as propulsion systems and finally realize the generalization, seriation and modularization. This will require gradually developing the new generation of launch vehicles with 5m, 3.35m and 2.25m diameter modules. The CZ-5 with the 5m diameter core stage will use 3.35m diameter module as its booster, the CZ--7 3.35m diameter core stage will use 2.25m diameter module as its booster. And the 3.35m and 2.25m modules also can be used independently as the CZ-6 and CZ-11.

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 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.

The 100th Long March launch occurred in 2007, and it is preparing for other important missions too. These include the launch of Shenzhou 10 in June 2013, which will deliver three taikonauts to the orbiting Tiangong-1, China’s first space station. In the future, a CZ-2F rocket will also launch Shenzhou 11 to the Tiangong-2 space laboratory. The 62m-long CZ-2F is a man-rated two-stage design, with structural modifications to allow carriage of heavier Shenzhou capsules, plus it has more redundant systems to enhance safety. This rocket represents China’s technological prowess and the nation’s space aspirations.

On 24 September 2007 China‘s cabinet and Central Military Commission approved long-standing plans to develop a new space launch site at Wenchang on Hainan Island, a near-equatorial location that would permit higher payloads than current higher-latitude launch sites at Xichang and Jiuquan. According to China, the new facility is being planned to handle synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations, and deep-space probes.

During the period from November 2009 to December 2010, a series of Chinese orbital missions using the Long March family of vehicles, from the Jiuquan Launch Center and the Xichang Launch Center took place. This series meant that a new country - China - matched the United States in the number of its rocket launches during a calendar year (15 in 2010) for the first time. a total of 31 launches were made by the Russian Federation in 2010.

The 2011 Chinese Government White Paper on space stated that China will build a stronger space transportation system, keep improving its launch vehicle series, and enhance their capabilities of entering space. It will enhance the reliability and adaptability of launch vehicles in service, and develop new-generation launch vehicles and their upper stages, implement the first flight of the Long March-5, Long March-6 and Long March-7 launch vehicles. The Long March-5 will use non-toxic and pollution-free propellant, and will be capable of placing 25 tons of payload into the near-Earth orbit, or placing 14 tons of payload into the GEO orbit. The Long March-6 will be a new type of high-speed response launch vehicle, which will be capable of placing not less than 1 ton of payload into a sun-synchronous orbit at a height of 700 km. The Long March-7 will be capable of placing 5.5 tons of payload into a sun-synchronous orbit at a height of 700 km. It will conduct special demonstrations and pre-research on key technologies for heavy-lift launch vehicles.

To meet long-term space goals, China will need to develop a rocket with a takeoff thrust of 3,000 tons, three times that of Long March-5, which will be able to send men to the moon, Liang Xiaohong, deputy head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, told China Daily on March 04, 2013. Research on a heavy-thrust launch vehicle has been carried out in the past years. Scientists visualize a rocket with a diameter of at least 8 meters, able to send a 100-ton payload into low earth orbit. The academy aims to have the heavy-thrust rocket project approved by the government under the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), Liang said. "If approved, China will stand in the same line as space powers such as the United States and Russia regarding launch vehicles, which is the precondition for all space activities," he said.

China will launch about 150 of its Long March carrier rockets over the next five years, one of its space chiefs said on Friday, days ahead of celebrations marking the launch of the country's first satellite 46 years ago. "In the 13th Five-Year Plan period [2016-2020], we will see about 30 launches [of the Long March series] each year," Chen Xuechuan, assistant president of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told Xinhua April 22, 2016.

There were 86 Long March missions in the five years from 2011 to 2015, and 48 from 2006 to 2010. Chen said China is quickly catching up with other countries after being a relative latecomer in human space endeavors. "Our first 100 Long March missions took us 37 years. But it only took us seven years to complete the latest 100," Chen said.