Long March 3C
 Drawing of Long March 3C | |
| Function | Carrier rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | CALT |
| Country of origin |  People's Republic of China |
| Size | |
| Height | 54.8 metres (180 ft)[1] |
| Diameter | 3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[1] |
| Mass | 345,000 kilograms (761,000 lb)[1] |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to GTO |
3,800 kilograms (8,400 lb)[2][3] |
| Payload to HCO |
2,400 kilograms (5,300 lb)[3] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Long March |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | LC-2, XSLC |
| Total launches | 10 |
| Successes | 10 |
| First flight | 25 April 2008 |
| Boosters (Stage 0) | |
| No boosters | 2 |
| Length | 15.33 metres (50.3 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.25 metres (7 ft 5 in) |
| Empty mass | 3,200 kilograms (7,100 lb) |
| Gross mass | 41,000 kilograms (90,000 lb) |
| Engines | 1 x YF-25 per booster |
| Thrust | 740.4 kilonewtons (166,400 lbf) |
| Total thrust | 2 x 740.4 kilonewtons (166,400 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 291 seconds (2.85 km/s) |
| Burn time | 128 seconds (2.13 min) |
| Fuel | N2O4 / UDMH |
| First Stage | |
| Length | 23.08 metres (75.7 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.35 metres (11.0 ft) |
| Empty mass | 9,000 kilograms (20,000 lb) |
| Gross mass | 179,000 kilograms (395,000 lb) |
| Engines | 4 x YF-21C |
| Thrust | 3,256 kilonewtons (732,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 289 seconds (2.83 km/s) |
| Burn time | 155 seconds (2.58 min) |
| Fuel | N2O4 / UDMH |
| Second Stage | |
| Length | 10.0 metres (32.8 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.4 metres (11 ft) |
| Empty mass | 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) |
| Gross mass | 55,000 kilograms (121,000 lb) |
| Engines | 1 x YF-22E (Main) 4 x YF-23C (Vernier) |
| Thrust | 1 x 742 kilonewtons (167,000 lbf) (Main) 4 x 11.8 kilonewtons (2,700 lbf) (Vernier) |
| Specific impulse | 289 seconds (2.83 km/s) |
| Burn time | 190 seconds (3.2 min) |
| Fuel | N2O4 / UDMH |
| Third Stage | |
| Length | 12.4 metres (41 ft) |
| Diameter | 3 metres (9.8 ft) |
| Empty mass | 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb) |
| Gross mass | 21,000 kilograms (46,000 lb) |
| Engines | 2 x YF-75 |
| Thrust | 2 x 78.5 kilonewtons (17,600 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 440 seconds (4.3 km/s) |
| Burn time | 470 seconds (7.8 min) |
| Fuel | LOX/LH2 |
The Long March 3C (simplified Chinese: 长征三号丙火箭; traditional Chinese: 長征三號丙火箭; pinyin: Chángzhēng Sānhào Bǐng Huǒjiàn), also known as the Changzheng 3C, CZ-3C and LM-3C, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It is launched from Launch Complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. A 3-stage rocket with two strapon liquid rocket boosters, it is a member of the Long March 3 rocket family, and was derived from the Long March 3B. It was designed to fill a gap in payload capacities between the Long March 3A and 3B.
Launches
It made its maiden flight on 25 April 2008, at 15:35 GMT. The payload for the first launch was the Tianlian-1 data relay communications satellite. The second carried the Compass-G2 navigation satellite, and was conducted on 14 April 2009. The third launch was made on 16 January 2010, with the Compass-G1 satellite. The fourth carrying the Compass-G3 navigation satellite was launched on 2 June 2010. On 1 October 2010, it successfully launched China's second lunar probe, Chang'e 2.
References
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||