Long March 4A

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Long March 4A
Long March 4A
Long March 4A
Fact sheet
Function Carrier rocket
Manufacturer CALT
Country of origin Flag of the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China
Size
Height 41.9 metres (137 ft)[1]
Diameter 3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[1]
Mass 249,000 kilograms (550,000 lb)[1]
Stages 3
Capacity
Payload to
LEO
4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb)[2]
Payload to
SSO
1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)[2]
Associated Rockets
Family Long March
Derivatives Long March 4B
Launch History
Status Retired
Launch sites LC-1, TSLC
Total launches 2
Successes 2
Maiden flight 6 September 1988
Last flight 3 September 1990

The Long March 4A, also known as the Chang Zheng 4A, CZ-4A and LM-4A, sometimes misidentified as the Long March 4 due to the lack of any such designated rocket, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It was launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre. It was a 3-stage rocket, used for two launches in 1988 and 1990. On its maiden flight, on 6 September 1988, it placed the FY-1A weather satellite into orbit. On its second, and final, flight it launched another weather satellite, FY-1B.

It was replaced by a derivative, the Long March 4B, which first flew in 1999. The Long March 4B offers a more powerful third stage, and a larger payload fairing.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Mark Wade. CZ-4A (English). Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
  2. ^ a b Gunter Krebs. CZ-4 (Chang Zheng-4) (English). Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.