Long March 5 Y2 transporting to launch site
| |
| Function | Heavy orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | CALT |
| Country of origin | China |
| Size | |
| Height | 57 m (187 ft) |
| Diameter | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Mass | 867,000 kg (1,911,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO (200 km × 400 km × 42°) | 25,000 kg (55,000 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | 14,000 kg (31,000 lb) |
| Payload to TLI | 8,200 kg (18,100 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Long March |
| Comparable | |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Wenchang LC-1 |
| Total launches | 2 |
| Successes | 1 |
| Failures | 1 |
| First flight | 3 November 2016 |
| Boosters – CZ-5-300 | |
| No. boosters | 4 |
| Length | 27.6 m (91 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Gross mass | 155,700 kg (343,300 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 144,000 kg (317,000 lb) |
| Engines | 2 × YF-100 |
| Thrust | SL: 2,400 kN (540,000 lbf) Vac.: 2,680 kN (600,000 lbf) |
| Total thrust | 9,600 kN (2,200,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | SL: 300 seconds (2.9 km/s) Vac: 335 seconds (3.29 km/s) |
| Burn time | 180 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| First stage – CZ-5-500 | |
| Length | 31.7 m (104 ft) |
| Diameter | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Gross mass | 175,600 kg (387,100 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 158,300 kg (349,000 lb) |
| Engines | 2 × YF-77 |
| Thrust | SL: 1,020 kN (230,000 lbf) Vac: 1,400 kN (310,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | SL: 310.2 seconds (3.042 km/s) Vac: 430 seconds (4.2 km/s) |
| Burn time | 480 seconds |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
| Second stage – CZ-5-HO | |
| Length | 10.6 m (35 ft) |
| Diameter | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Gross mass | 22,200 kg (48,900 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 17,100 kg (37,700 lb) |
| Engines | 2 × YF-75D |
| Thrust | 176.52 kN (39,680 lbf)88.26 |
| Specific impulse | 442 seconds (4.33 km/s) |
| Burn time | 700 seconds |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
| Third stage – YZ-2(Optional) | |
| Diameter | 3.8 m (12 ft) |
| Engines | 2 x YF-50D |
| Thrust | 6.5 kN (1,500 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 316 seconds (3.10 km/s) |
| Burn time | 1105 seconds |
| Fuel | N2O4/UDMH |
Long March 5 (LM-5, CZ-5, or Changzheng 5) is a Chinese heavy lift launch system developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). CZ-5 is the first Chinese vehicle designed from the ground up to focus on non-hypergolic liquid rocket propellants. Currently, two CZ-5 vehicle configurations are planned, with maximum payload capacities of ~25,000 kilograms (55,000 lb) to LEO and ~14,000 kilograms (31,000 lb) to GTO. The Long March 5 roughly matches the capabilities of American EELV heavy-class vehicles such as the Delta IV Heavy.
On its first launch from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center on 3 November 2016, the CZ-5 placed its payload in a suboptimal but workable initial orbit. Its second launch on 2 July 2017 failed due to an engine problem in the first stage.
History
Since
2010, Long March launches have made up 15–25% of all space launches
globally. Growing domestic demand has maintained a healthy manifest.
International deals have been secured through a package deal that bundles the launch with a Chinese satellite, circumventing the U.S. embargo.
The Chinese government approved the development of the Long March
5 rocket in 2007 following two decades of feasibility studies. It was
to be manufactured at a facility in Tianjin, a coastal city near Beijing. In 2008 the first launch of the Long March 5 was predicted to occur in Wenchang of the southernmost island province of Hainan, where a new satellite launch center was allegedly being constructed.
The first CZ-5 rocket to be launched completed production and
testing in Tianjin manufacturing facility around 16 August 2016 and
shipped to the launch centre on Hainan island shortly after.
Development
The
Chief Designer for the CZ-5 rocket was Long Lehao. The main objective
for the CZ-5 rocket was to fulfill China's requirement for large payload
to LEO and GTO
missions for the next 20–30 years. The CZ-5 project was initially
announced in February 2001, with initial development slated to begin in
2002 and the first versions of the vehicle to go into service by 2008.
However, funding was only finally granted in 2007 as revealed by the
developers during the Northeast China exhibition.
On 30 October 2007, the construction of the CZ-5 production plant began in the TEDA West area near Binhai New Area in Tianjin. The production facility was constructed near the harbor
to reduce the logistical problems associated transporting rockets over
land and allow easier transportation by sea from Tianjin to Wenchang Launch Facility on Hainan Island. The new production facility would have an area totaling more than half a million square meters and cost RMB 4500 million (USD
650 million), with the first stage of the construction scheduled to be
completed by 2009. When the production facility is completed in 2012, it
would be capable of a maximum output of thirty CZ-5s annually.
As of July 2012, development of the 1,200 kN thrust LOX/kerosene engine was test fired.
New photos of CZ-5 and of its tests were released in March 2015.
The first CZ-5 was shipped from the port of Tianjin in North
China at 20 September 2015 for a rehearsal (some of the drills carried
out at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center involved both the launch vehicle and a probe) of a scheduled Chang'e-5 lunar mission planned around 2017. The first test flight was initially scheduled for 2014, but this subsequently slipped to 2016.
First flight
The launch was planned to take place at around 10:00 UTC
3 November 2016, but several issues, involving an oxygen vent and
chilling of the engines, were detected during the preparation, causing a
delay of nearly three hours. The final countdown was interrupted three
times due to problems with the flight control computer and the tracking
software. The rocket finally launched at 12:43 UTC.
According to an internet blogger on the Chinese microblogging platform
Weibo, a minor problem occurred during flight and the rocket put the YZ-2
upper stage and satellite into an orbit that was less accurate than
expected. However, the trajectory was corrected with the YZ-2 upper
stage and the payload was inserted into the desired orbit.
Second flight
Its
second launch on 2 July 2017 experienced an anomaly shortly after
launch and was switched to an alternate, gentler trajectory. However, it
was declared a failure 45 minutes into the flight. The cause of the failure was confirmed by CASC and related to an anomaly which happened on one of the YF-77 engines in the first stage.
The YF-77 booster engine was test-fired in 2018 after CASC redesigned it. The next Long March 5 launch date was estimated to be in January 2019,
Still, after repeated cancellations and delays, the next launch is
expected to return to flight late in 2019, but not sure exactly when.
Design
The chief
designer of CZ-5 is Mr. Li Dong of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle
Technology (CALT). The CZ-5 family will include three primary modular
core stages of 5.2-m diameter (maximum). The total length of the vehicle
is 60.5 metres and its weight at launch is 643 tons, with a thrust of
833.8 tons. Boosters of various capabilities and diameters ranging from
2.25 metres to 3.35 metres would be assembled from three modular core
stages and strap-on stages. The first stage and boosters would have a
choice of engines that use different liquid rocket propellants: 1,200 kN thrust LOX/kerosene engines or 500 kN thrust LOX/LH2. The upper stage would use improved versions of the YF-75 engine.
Engine development began in 2000–2001, with testing directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) commencing in 2005. Versions of both new engines, the YF-100 and the YF-77, had been successfully tested by mid-2007.
The CZ-5 series can deliver ~23 tonnes payload to LEO or ~13 tonnes payload to GTO (geosynchronous transfer orbit). It will replace the CZ-2, CZ-3, and CZ-4 series in service, as well as provide new capabilities not possessed by the previous Long March rocket
family. The CZ-5 launch vehicle would consist of a 5.0-m diameter core
stage and four 3.35-m diameter strap-on boosters, which would be able to
send a ~25 tonne payload to low earth orbit (LEO).
Six CZ-5 variants were originally planned, but the light variants were cancelled in favor of CZ-6 and CZ-7 family launch vehicles.
In 2019, Russia offered China its technology to fix the current
technical issues of Long March 5's cryogenic engines since “China
urgently needs heavy-booster liquid-fuel rocket engines, of which Russia
has some good offerings,” said by Zhou Chenming, a military analyst.
Specifications
- In development
| Version | CZ-5 | CZ-5B |
|---|---|---|
| Boosters | 4×CZ-5-300, 2×YF-100 | 4×CZ-5-300, 2×YF-100 |
| First stage | CZ-5-500, 2×YF-77 | CZ-5-500, 2×YF-77 |
| Second stage | CZ-5-HO, 2×YF-75D | -- |
| Third stage (optional) | Yuanzheng-2 | -- |
| Thrust (at ground) | 10565 KN | 10565 KN |
| Launch weight | 867 t | 837 t |
| Height | 62 m | 53.66 m |
| Payload (LEO 200 km) | -- | ~25 t[26] |
| Payload (GTO) | ~14 t[26] | -- |
- Proposed
| Version | CZ-5-200 | CZ-5-320 | CZ-5-522 | CZ-5-540 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boosters | -- | 2×CZ-5-200, YF-100 | 2×CZ-5-200, YF-100; 2×CZ-5-300, 2×YF-100 | 4×CZ-5-200, YF-100 |
| First stage | CZ-5-200, YF-100 | CZ-5-300, 2×YF-100 | CZ-5-500, 2×YF-77 | CZ-5-500, 2×YF-77 |
| Second stage | CZ-YF-73, YF-73 | CZ-5-KO, | CZ-5-HO, 2×YF-75D | CZ-5-HO, 2×YF-75D |
| Third stage (not used for LEO) | -- | CZ-5-HO, YF-75 | -- | -- |
| Thrust (at ground) | 134 Mgf (1.34 MN) | 720 Mgf (7.2 MN) | 824 Mgf (8.24 MN) | 584 Mgf (5.84 MN) |
| Launch weight | 82 t | 420 t | 630 t | 470 t |
| Height (maximal) | 33 m | 55 m | 58 m | 53 m |
| Payload (LEO 200 km) | 1.5 t | 10 t | 20 t | 10 t |
| Payload (GTO) | -- | 6 t | 11 t | 6 t |
List of launches
| Flight № | Date (UTC) | Launch site | Upper stage | Payload | Orbit | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y1 | 3 November 2016 12:43 |
Wenchang LC-1 | YZ-2 | Shijian 17 | GEO | Success |
| Y2 | 2 July 2017 11:23 |
Wenchang LC-1 | YZ-2 | Shijian 18 | GTO | Failure |
| Y3 | 27 December 2019 | Wenchang LC-1 | YZ-2 | Shijian 20 | GTO | Planned |
| Y4 | Q4 2020 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Chang'e 5, lunar sample return | TLI | Planned |
| LM5B Y1 | Second half of 2020 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Test flight for a new-generation crewed spacecraft | LEO | Planned |
|
|
23 July 2020 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover | TMI | Scheduled |
|
|
2020 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Tianhe, space station core module | LEO | Planned |
|
|
2021 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Wentian, space station experiment module 1 | LEO | Planned |
|
|
2022 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Mengtian, space station experiment module 2 | LEO | Planned |
|
|
2024 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Chang'e 6, lunar sample return | TLI | Planned |
|
|
2024 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | Xun Tian, space telescope | LEO | Planned |
|
|
2024 | Wenchang LC-1 | None | SPORT (Solar Polar Orbit Telescope) | Heliocentric | Planned |
