science

List of Long March launches

List of Long March launches is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of Long March launches rather than just read about it. In short: This is a list of launches made by the Long March rocket family. Launch attempts aborted or scrubbed before liftoff, including ones such as the attempt to launch a Long March 2E with Optus B1 on 22 March 1992, where the engines were ignited but shut down on the pad, are not included.

Key takeaways

List of Long March launches belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of Long March launches to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of Long March launches from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This is a list of launches made by the Long March rocket family. Launch attempts aborted or scrubbed before liftoff, including ones such as the attempt to launch a Long March 2E with Optus B1 on 22 March 1992, where the engines were ignited but shut down on the pad, are not included. Launches made with the related Feng Bao 1 carrier rocket are not included.

Due to the size of the list, it has been split into several smaller articles:

List of Long March launches (1970–1979) List of Long March launches (1980–1989) List of Long March launches (1990–1999) List of Long March launches (2000–2009) List of Long March launches (2010–2019) List of Long March launches (2020–2024) List of Long March launches (2025–2029)

Launch statistics Rockets from the Long March family have accumulated a total of 665 launches as of 25 August 2026. Of these, 644 were successful, 12 were failures, and 9 were partial failures. The cumulative success rate is 96.8%. Note that the statistics listed in this paragraph are correct having been sourced from CNSA launch announcement; in addition, the annual numbers of launches listed in following bar chart is also correct. However, the tables of launches in the linked decadal lists may have errors of omission for the years prior to 2020.

Anomalies and failures A success is a launch that deploys all payloads into the correct orbit without damage. The launch vehicle may experience an anomaly that does not affect the mission. The payload may experience an anomaly that was not caused by the launch.

On 29 November 1994, the Long March 3A successfully deployed Chinasat-5 into geostationary transfer orbit. However, the satellite failed to reach geostationary orbit due to a propellant leak. On 3 November 2016, the Long March 5 experienced an anomaly in the second stage, failing to deploy the stack into the correct geostationary transfer orbit. However, the third stage was able to compensate for the performance shortfall with a longer burn. A partial failure is a launch that reaches orbit, but at least one payload was not deployed into the correct orbit or suffered damage. After a partial failure, a satellite may operate at reduced functionality or with a reduced lifetime. A common type of partial failure occurs when a satellite is deployed into a lower than intended orbit. The satellite can maneuver with its own propulsion system to reach the correct orbit, but this reduces the fuel available for station-keeping and shortens its operational life.

On 29 January 1984, the maiden launch of the Long March 3 failed to reach geostationary transfer orbit. On 28 December 1991, the Long March 3 failed to deploy DFH-2A-4 (ChinaSat 4) into geostationary transfer orbit. On 21 December 1992, the Long March 2E experienced a structural failure of the payload fairing, destroying the Optus B2 communications satellite. The satellite's debris reached the correct orbit. On 28 November 1995, the Long March 2E damaged AsiaSat 2 by subjecting it to excessive forces during the launch. The satellite was unable to broadcast to its full coverage area. On 18 August 1996, the Long March 3 failed to deploy ChinaSat 7 into geostationary transfer orbit. On 31 August 2009, the Long March 3B failed to deploy Palapa-D into geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite reached the intended orbit with its own propulsion system. On 28 December 2016, the Long March 2D failed to deploy the payloads into Sun-synchronous orbit. The primary payloads reached the correct orbit with their own propulsion systems, but the secondary payload had no propulsion system and reentered two months later. On 18 June 2017, the Long March 3B failed to deploy ChinaSat 9A into geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite maneuvered 10 times over a one-month period to reach the correct orbit. On 13 March 2024, the Long March 2C failed to deploy the DRO-A and DRO-B satellites into the planned trans-lunar injection orbit because of a failure of the YZ-1A upper stage. The satellites however were able to reach their intended Distant Retrograde Orbit around the Moon under their own power and are operating normally. A failure is a launch that does not deploy it into earth orbit.

On 5 November 1974, the Long March 2 lost control during its maiden launch. On 25 January 1995, the Long March 2E experienced another structural failure in the payload fairing, destroying the Apstar 2 communications satellite. On 14 February 1996, the Long March 3B lost its guidance platform and veered off course, hitting a nearby village and killing at least 6 people. On 18 August 2011, the Long March 2C lost attitude control. On 9 December 2013, the Long March 4B experienced an early shutdown of its third stage and failed to reach orbit. On 31 August 2016, the Long March 4C failed to reach orbit. On 2 July 2017, the Long March 5 experienced an anomaly in its first stage and failed to reach orbit. On 22 May 2019, the Long March 4C failed to reach orbit due to a problem with its third stage. On 16 March 2020, the first Long March 7A failed to reach orbit. On 9 April 2020, the Long March 3B failed to reach orbit with the Palapa-N1 (Nusantara Dua) satellite due to third stage failure.

References

Sources

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of Long March launches

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of Long March launches claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of Long March launches before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of Long March launches ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of Long March launches

In research: List of Long March launches appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of Long March launches in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of Long March launches is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of Long March launches, Lists of rocket launches, Long March (rocket family), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of Long March launches outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of Long March launches in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is List of Long March launches in simple terms?

Why does List of Long March launches matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of Long March launches?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

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