Long March 3

Not to be confused with Long March 3 rocket family.

The Long March 3 (Chinese: 长征三号火箭), also known as the Changzheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. They were all launched from Launch Area 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It was a three-stage rocket, and was mostly used to place DFH-2-class communications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits. It was complemented and later replaced by the more powerful Long March 3A, which has an improved third stage.

Rendering of Long March 3
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	CALT
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	43.25 metres (141.9 ft)[1]
Diameter	3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[1]
Mass	204,000 kilograms (450,000 lb)[1]
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb)[2]
Payload to GTO
Mass	1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)[2]
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Derivative work	Long March 3A
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LA-3, XSLC
Total launches	13
Success(es)	10
Failure(s)	2
Partial failure(s)	1
First flight	29 January 1984
Last flight	25 June 2000
First stage
Height	23.49 m
Diameter	3.35 m
Empty mass	9,378 kg (20,675 lb)
Gross mass	153,070 kg (337,460 lb)
Propellant mass	143,692 kg (316,787 lb)
Powered by	4 YF-21B
Maximum thrust	2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.2 m/s (260.66 s)
Burn time	121 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Second stage
Height	9.47 m
Diameter	3.35 m
Empty mass	3,599 kg (7,934 lb)
Gross mass	39,440 kg (86,950 lb)
Propellant mass	35,841 kg (79,016 lb)
Powered by	1 YF-24D (1 x YF-22D (Main)) (4 x YF-23F (Vernier))
Maximum thrust	741.4 kN (166,700 lbf) (Main) 47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier)
Specific impulse	2,922.4 m/s (298.00 s) (Main) 2,762 m/s (281.6 s) (Vernier)
Burn time	130 s
Propellant	N2O4 / UDMH
Third stage
Height	10.36 m
Diameter	2.25 m
Empty mass	1,965 kg (4,332 lb)
Gross mass	10,700 kg (23,600 lb)
Propellant mass	8,731 kg (19,249 lb)
Powered by	1 YF-73
Maximum thrust	44.43 kN (9,990 lbf)
Specific impulse	4,119 m/s (420.0 s)
Burn time	729 s
Propellant	LH2 / LOX

Launch statistics

0.5

1

1.5

2

1984

1990

1995

2000

•   Failure
•   Partial failure
•   Success
•   Planned

List of launches

Main article: List of Long March launches

Flight number	Date (UTC)	Launch site	Payload	Orbit	Result
1	January 29, 1984 12:25	LA-3, XSLC	STTW 1	GTO (intended)	Partial Failure
2	April 8, 1984 11:20	LA-3, XSLC	STTW 2	GTO	Success
3	February 1, 1986 12:37	LA-3, XSLC	DFH-2-1	GTO	Success
4	March 7, 1988 12:41	LA-3, XSLC	DFH-2A-1 (ChinaSat 1)	GTO	Success
5	December 22, 1988 12:40	LA-3, XSLC	DFH-2A-2 (ChinaSat 2)	GTO	Success
6	February 4, 1990 12:28	LA-3, XSLC	DFH-2A-3 (ChinaSat 3)	GTO	Success
7	April 7, 1990 13:30	LA-3, XSLC	AsiaSat 1	GTO	Success
8	December 28, 1991 12:00	LA-3, XSLC	DFH-2A-4 (ChinaSat 4)	GTO (intended)	Failure
9	July 21, 1994 10:55	LA-3, XSLC	APStar 1	GTO	Success
10	July 3, 1996 10:47	LA-3, XSLC	APStar 1A	GTO	Success
11	August 18, 1996 10:27	LA-3, XSLC	ChinaSat 7	GTO (intended)	Failure
12	June 10, 1997 12:01	LA-3, XSLC	Fengyun 2A	GTO	Success
13	June 25, 2000 11:50	LA-3, XSLC	Fengyun 2B	GTO	Success

Launch failures

Dong Fang Hong 2 launch failure

On January 29, 1984, a LM-3 rocket failed during launch. The third stage failed 4 s after restart for GTO insertion of the satellite, due to incorrect mixture ratio in the engine gas generator, which caused high temperatures and burned out the turbine casing. However, many planned tests on the experimental communications spacecraft were still carried out in the resulting elliptical orbit.

ChinaSat 4 launch failure

On December 28, 1991, a LM-3 rocket failed during launch. The third-stage engine suffered a loss of turbine speed and combustion pressure 58 s after re-igniting for the second burn for GTO insertion and shut down completely 135 s after re-ignition. Loss of pressure in the high-pressure helium supply used for engine control had reduced the propellant flow.

ChinaSat 7 launch failure

On August 18, 1996 a LM-3 rocket failed during launch. The third-stage engine shut down roughly 40 s earlier than planned because of a fire in the LH2 injector of the gas generator. Insufficient purging had permitted oxygen to freeze in the gas generator during flight.

Specifications of all LM-3 types

Specifications

Series	3	3A	3B	3B/E	3C	3C/E
Model	Long March 3	Long March 3A	Long March 3B	Long March 3B/E	Long March 3C	Long March 3C/E
Stages	3	3	3 (plus 4 strap-on boosters)	3 (plus 4 strap-on boosters)	3 (plus 2 strap-on boosters)	3 (plus 2 strap-on boosters)
Length (m)	43.2	52.5	54.8	56.3	54.8	56.3
Max. diameter (m)	3.35	3.35	3.35	3.35	3.35	3.35
Liftoff mass (t)	204	241	426	459	345	378
Liftoff thrust (kN)	2,962	2,962	5,923	5,923	4,442	4,442
Payload (LEO, kg)	5,000	8,500	11,500	11,500	8,000	8,000

Launch history for all LM-3 types

The following launch statistics are gathered from the individual Wikipedia pages of each CZ-3x variants as those pages are updated more frequently by various editors; the numbers are current as of 28 May, 2025.

Long March 3 (rocket family)

Derivatives	Status	First flight	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures
Long March 3	Retired	29 January 1984	13	10	2	1
Long March 3A	Retired	8 February 1994	27	27	0	0
Long March 3B	Retired	14 February 1996	12	10	1	1
Long March 3B/E	Active	13 May 2007	97	95	1	1
Long March 3C	Retired	25 April 2008	12	12	0	0
Long March 3C/E	Active	23 October 2014	7	7	0	0