Long March 2E

Long March 2E

Long March 2E
Function	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer	CALT
Country of origin	People's Republic of China
Size
Height	49.70 metres (163.1 ft)[1]
Diameter	3.35 metres (11.0 ft)[1]
Mass	460,000 kilograms (1,010,000 lb)[1]
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO	9,500 kilograms (20,900 lb)[1]
Payload to GTO	3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb)[1]
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Derivatives	Long March 2F
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LA-2, XSLC
Total launches	7
Successes	5
Failures	1
Partial failures	1
First flight	16 July 1990
Last flight	28 December 1995
Boosters
No. boosters	4
Length	15.33 m (50.3 ft)
Diameter	2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Empty mass	3,000 kg (6,600 lb)
Gross mass	40,754 kg (89,847 lb)
Propellant mass	37,754 kg (83,233 lb)
Engines	1 YF-20B
Thrust	740.4 kN (166,400 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.2 m/s (260.66 s)
Burn time	127 s
Fuel	N2O4/UDMH
First stage
Length	28.47 m (93.4 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Empty mass	12,550 kg (27,670 lb)
Gross mass	198,825 kg (438,334 lb)
Propellant mass	186,280 kg (410,680 lb)
Engines	4 YF-20B
Thrust	2,961.6 kN (665,800 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,556.2 m/s (260.66 s)
Burn time	160 s
Fuel	N2O4/UDMH
Second stage
Length	14.22 m (46.7 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Empty mass	4,955 kg (10,924 lb)
Gross mass	91,414 kg (201,533 lb)
Propellant mass	84,759 kg (186,862 lb)
Engines	1 YF-24B (1 x YF-22B (Main)) (4 x YF-23B (Vernier))
Thrust	738.4 kN (166,000 lbf) (Main) 47.1 kN (10,600 lbf) (Vernier)
Specific impulse	2,922.4 m/s (298.00 s) (Main) 2,834.1 m/s (289.00 s) (Vernier)
Burn time	301 s
Fuel	N2O4/UDMH
Third stage - EPKM(optional)
Length	2.936 m (9 ft 7.6 in)
Diameter	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Empty mass	557 kg (1,228 lb)
Gross mass	6,001 kg (13,230 lb)
Propellant mass	5,444 kg (12,002 lb)
Engines	1 FG-46
Thrust	190 kN (43,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	2,870 m/s (293 s)
Burn time	87s
Fuel	HTPB

The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Designed to launch commercial communications satellites, the Long March 2E was retired in favour of the Long March 3B, after two launch failures. Launched from complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, it is a three-stage carrier rocket. The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990, and was retired on 28 December 1995. It forms the basis of the Long March 2F, used to launch manned Shenzhou missions. The booster rockets have also been reused on the Long March 3B and Long March 3C.

Launches

The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990 and made 7 launches in total. The first failed launch occurred on 21 December 1992, during the launch of the original Optus B2. Windshear caused the payload fairing to implode 45 seconds into flight. Despite this, the rocket continued on to orbit, and deployed what was left of the upper stage and payload into a low Earth orbit. The second failure occurred on 25 January 1995, during the launch of APStar 2. Again, windshear led to the collapse of the payload fairing, however on this occasion, the rocket exploded.

List of Launches

Flight number	Date (UTC)	Launch site	Upper stage	Payload	Orbit	Result
1	July 16, 1990 00:40	LA-2, XSLC	SPTS-M14	Optus-B mass simulator Badr-1	GTO LEO	Success
2	August 13, 1992 23:00	LA-2, XSLC	Star-63F	Optus-B1	GTO	Success^[note]
3	December 21, 1992 11:21	LA-2, XSLC	Star-63F	Optus-B2	GTO	Partial Failure
4	August 27, 1994 23:10	LA-2, XSLC	Star-63F	Optus-B3	GTO	Success
5	January 25, 1995 22:40	LA-2, XSLC	Star-63F	APStar 2	GTO	Failure
6	November 28, 1995 11:30	LA-2, XSLC	EPKM	AsiaSat 2	GTO	Success
7	December 28, 1995 11:50	LA-2, XSLC	EPKM	Echostar 1	GTO	Success

^note Original launch attempt on March 22, 1992 at 10:40 UTC was aborted after engine ignition due to one booster engine igniter shutdown after metal contaminants caused electric arcing. Launch vehicle suffered damage and had to be replaced.

References

1. Mark Wade. "CZ-2E". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2008-05-02.