Long March 3

	Rendering of Long March 3
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	China
Size
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	43.25 metres (141.9 ft)
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	3.35 metres (11.0 ft)
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	204,000 kilograms (450,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb)
Payload to GTO
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	Long March 3A
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LA-3, XSLC
Total launches	13
Success(es)	10
Failure	2
Partial failure	1
First flight	29 January 1984
Last flight	25 June 2000
First stage
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	23.49 m
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	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)
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	4 YF-21B
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	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
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	9.47 m
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	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)
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	1 YF-24D; (1 x YF-22D (Main)); (4 x YF-23F (Vernier))
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	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
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	10.36 m
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	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)
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	1 YF-73
Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 555: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).	44.43 kN (9,990 lbf)
Specific impulse	4,119 m/s (420.0 s)
Burn time	729 s
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
	[[[d:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 2822: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).\|edit on Wikidata]]]

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.

Launch statistics

Original LM 3 only.

1

2

1984

86

88

1990

1995

2000

Failure
Partial failure
Success
Planned

List of launches

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

Launch failures

Dong Fang Hong 2 launch failure

On 29 January 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 28 December 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 18 August 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.

Including other LM-3 variants

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 15 December 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	101	99	1	1
Long March 3C	Retired	25 April 2008	12	12	0	0
Long March 3C/E	Active	23 October 2014	8	8	0	0

References

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v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Eris^† Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 6C 7 7A 8 11 11H 12 LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C New Glenn Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB Spectrum^† SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2E 3
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Blue Whale 1 Ceres-2 Cyclone-4M Deca Eclipse Epsilon S Gravity-2 HANBIT-NANO Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kinetica 2 2H 3 KSLV-III Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 Miura 5 Neutron New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf RFA One SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIA H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 2-1v Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 RS1^† Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^† 2
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Long March (rocket family)
Rockets	Feng Bao 1 Long March 1 1D Long March 2 2A 2C 2D 2E 2F Long March 3 3A 3B 3B/E 3C Long March 4 4A 4B 4C Long March 5 5B Long March 6 6A 6C Long March 7 7A Long March 8 8A Long March 9 Long March 10 Long March 11 11H Long March 12 12A
Launch sites	Jiuquan Taiyuan Wenchang Commercial Xichang
Manufacturers	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
Designers	Wang Xiji
List of Long March launches

Long March 3

Contents

Launch statistics

List of launches