CZ-2C launch

The CZ-2C was the definitive low earth orbit launch vehicle derived from DF-5 ICBM. It became the basis for an entire family of subsequent Long March vehicles. Many adaptive modifications were made to the configuration of the CZ-2A to handle a variety of new satellites and upper stages. The CZ-2C had improved technical performance and payload capacity compared to the CZ-2A, with later versions having a payload capability of 2,800 kg into a 200 km circular orbit.

The CZ-2C could be launched from either the Jiuquan or Taiyuan launch sites. After its first FSW reconnaissance satellite mission on 9 September 1982 the CZ-2C launch vehicle successfully orbited six applications and two new recoverable satellites into space. On October 6, 1992, the Swedish Freja satellite was successfully launched as a co-passenger on the CZ-2C's thirteenth flight.

Manufacturer: Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. Launches: 22. Success Rate: 100.00%. First Launch Date: 1975-11-26. Last Launch Date: 2007-04-11. Launch data is: continuing. LEO Payload: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). to: 200 km Orbit. at: 52.00 degrees. Payload: 2,200 kg (4,800 lb). to a: 200 km, 90 deg inclination orbital trajectory. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi). Associated Spacecraft: Double Star, Freja, FSW, KOMPSAT-2. Liftoff Thrust: 2,960.000 kN (665,430 lbf). Total Mass: 192,000 kg (423,000 lb). Core Diameter: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Total Length: 35.15 m (115.32 ft). Launch Price $: 25.000 million. in: 1999 price dollars.

• Stage Number: 1. 1 x Stage: CZ-2C-1. Gross Mass: 153,000 kg (337,000 lb). Empty Mass: 10,000 kg (22,000 lb). Thrust (vac): 3,295.000 kN (740,745 lbf). Isp: 291 sec. Burn time: 122 sec. Isp(sl): 261 sec. Diameter: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Span: 6.00 m (19.60 ft). Length: 20.52 m (67.32 ft). Propellants: N2O4/UDMH. No Engines: 4. Engine: YF-20A. Other designations: L-140. Status: Out of production.

• Stage Number: 2. 1 x Stage: CZ-2C-2. Gross Mass: 39,000 kg (85,000 lb). Empty Mass: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb). Thrust (vac): 761.900 kN (171,282 lbf). Isp: 295 sec. Burn time: 130 sec. Isp(sl): 270 sec. Diameter: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Span: 3.35 m (10.99 ft). Length: 7.50 m (24.60 ft). Propellants: N2O4/UDMH. No Engines: 1. Engine: YF-22A/23A. Other designations: L-35. Status: In production.

1975 November 26 - 03:29 GMT - Launch Site: Jiuquan. Launch Complex: LA2. Launch Pad: LA2B. Launch Vehicle: CZ-2C. Model: Chang Zheng 2C. LV Configuration: Chang Zheng 2C CZ2C-1 (4).

• FSW-0 No. 1 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 01. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 183 km (113 mi). Apogee: 483 km (300 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 91.10 min. COSPAR: 1975-111A. USAF Sat Cat: 8452. Duration: 2.00 days. Decay Date: 1975-12-29. First orbital test of Chinese recoverable photo surveillance satellite. The spacecraft was brought down early, after three days in orbit, due to problems with the attitude control system cold gas supply. Along the skirt of the return capsule some wires and instruments were burnt during re-entry and capsule impacted far from its planned landing point. However usable film was obtained from the capsule. The Chinese Academy of Space Technology organised a team to determine the cause, and improvements were made in the next spacecraft of the model.Additional Details: FSW-0 No. 1(1764). References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 2 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 02. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 172 km (106 mi). Apogee: 489 km (303 mi). Inclination: 59.40 deg. Period: 91.10 min. COSPAR: 1976-117A. USAF Sat Cat: 9587. Duration: 2.00 days. Decay Date: 1977-01-02. Photo surveillance; film capsule recovered 9 December. First completely successful test of the FSW spy satellite. Many improvements in comparison to the first FSW orbited. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 3 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 03. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 186 km (115 mi). Apogee: 507 km (315 mi). Inclination: 57.00 deg. Period: 91.40 min. COSPAR: 1978-011A. USAF Sat Cat: 10611. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1978-02-07. Photo surveillance; film capsule; capsule returned January 30. Second fully successful FSW mission. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 4 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 04. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 172 km (106 mi). Apogee: 392 km (243 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 90.20 min. COSPAR: 1982-090A. USAF Sat Cat: 13521. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1982-09-21. Photo surveillance; film capsule recovered 14 September. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 5 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 05. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 170 km (100 mi). Apogee: 493 km (306 mi). Inclination: 63.30 deg. Period: 91.20 min. COSPAR: 1983-086A. USAF Sat Cat: 14288. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1983-09-03. Photo surveillance; film capsule recovered 24 August. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 6 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 06. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 172 km (106 mi). Apogee: 398 km (247 mi). Inclination: 67.90 deg. Period: 90.20 min. COSPAR: 1984-098A. USAF Sat Cat: 15279. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1984-09-29. Photo surveillance; film capsule recovered 17 September. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 7 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 07. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 171 km (106 mi). Apogee: 393 km (244 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 90.20 min. COSPAR: 1985-096A. USAF Sat Cat: 16177. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1985-11-07. Fanhui Shi Weixing photo surveillance satellite; film capsule recovered 26 October. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 8 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 08. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 169 km (105 mi). Apogee: 337 km (209 mi). Inclination: 57.00 deg. Period: 89.60 min. COSPAR: 1986-076A. USAF Sat Cat: 17001. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1986-10-23. Fanhui Shi Weixing recoverable satellite; capsule re-entered October 11 after five day mission. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-0 No. 9 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-0 No. 09. Mass: 2,500 kg (5,500 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 169 km (105 mi). Apogee: 366 km (227 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 89.90 min. COSPAR: 1987-067A. USAF Sat Cat: 18306. Duration: 5.00 days. Decay Date: 1987-08-23. Fanhui Shi Weixing recoverable satellite; carried microgravity experiments; return capsule recovered August 10 after five days in space. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-1 No. 1 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-1 No. 01. Mass: 2,100 kg (4,600 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 181 km (112 mi). Apogee: 222 km (137 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 88.50 min. COSPAR: 1987-075A. USAF Sat Cat: 18341. Duration: 8.00 days. Decay Date: 1987-10-04. Fanhui Shi Weixing recoverable satellite; return capsule recovered September 17 after eight days in space. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-1 No. 2 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-1 No. 02. Mass: 2,100 kg (4,600 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 204 km (126 mi). Apogee: 311 km (193 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 89.70 min. COSPAR: 1988-067A. USAF Sat Cat: 19368. Duration: 8.00 days. Decay Date: 1988-08-13. German crystal growth experiment in recoverable capsule. Results marred by hard landing. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-1 No. 3 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-1 No. 03. Mass: 2,100 kg (4,600 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 208 km (129 mi). Apogee: 312 km (193 mi). Inclination: 57.00 deg. Period: 89.70 min. COSPAR: 1990-089A. USAF Sat Cat: 20838. Decay Date: 1990-10-23. Fanhui Shi Weixing recoverable satellite; carried biological research experiments. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• Freja Nation: Sweden. Payload: FSW-1 4 / Freja. Mass: 259 kg (570 lb). Class: Earth. Type: Magnetosphere. Spacecraft: Freja. Agency: SSC. Perigee: 590 km (360 mi). Apogee: 1,763 km (1,095 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 108.90 min. COSPAR: 1992-064A. USAF Sat Cat: 22161. Ionospheric, auroral, amgnetospheric studies. Freja is a Swedish/German satellite designed for research into the aurora. The satellite was launched piggyback on a Long March 2C (CZ-2C) rocket and weighs 214 kg in orbit. It is a sun-pointing spinner (10 rpm) with a 2.2 m diameter. It will make high re solution measurements in the upper ionosphere and lower magnetosphere. Data will be received at Esrange, Kiruna, Sweden and at the Prince Albert Satellite Station in Canada's Saskatchewan Province. Launch time 0620 UT.References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• FSW-1 No. 4 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-1 No. 04. Mass: 2,100 kg (4,600 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: MAI. Perigee: 213 km (132 mi). Apogee: 309 km (192 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 89.70 min. COSPAR: 1992-064B. USAF Sat Cat: 22162. Duration: 6.00 days. Decay Date: 1992-10-31. Fanhui Shi Weixing recoverable imaging satellite; carried remote sensing, microgravity experiments; capsule recovered October 13 after 6 days in orbit. References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• Freja Nation: Sweden. Spacecraft: Freja. Agency: PRC. COSPAR: 1992-064xx. USAF Sat Cat: 22161. References: 279.

• FSW-1 No. 5 Nation: China. Payload: Jian Bing 93. Mass: 2,099 kg (4,627 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: CASC. Perigee: 181 km (112 mi). Apogee: 2,860 km (1,770 mi). Inclination: 56.60 deg. Period: 116.50 min. COSPAR: 1993-063A. USAF Sat Cat: 22859. Decay Date: 1993-10-28. The only FSW-1 mission conducted during 1993-1994 was launched into an orbit of 209 km by 300 km at an inclination of 57.0 deg. In addition to an Earth observation Payload, FSW-1 5 carried microgravity research equipment and a diamond-studded medallion commemorating the 100th anniversary of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung's birth. The spacecraft operated normally until 16 October when an attempt to recover the satellite failed. An attitude control system failure aligned the spacecraft 90 deg from its desired position, causing the re-entry capsule to be pushed into a higher elliptical orbit (179 km by 3031 km) instead of returning to Earth. Natural decay did not bring the capsule back until March 12, 1996.References: 1, 2, 5, 6.

• Tan Ce 1 Nation: China. Payload: Double Star 1, DSP-E. Mass: 350 kg (770 lb). Class: Earth. Type: Magnetosphere. Spacecraft: Double Star. Perigee: 555 km (344 mi). Apogee: 78,051 km (48,498 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. COSPAR: 2003-061A. USAF Sat Cat: 28140. Equatorial member of a pair of Chinese-European magnetospheric research satellites carrying surplus instrumentation from the ESA Cluster program. First CZ-2C launch from Xichang.

• Tansuo 1 Nation: China. Payload: Shiyan 1. Mass: 204 kg (449 lb). Class: Technology. Spacecraft: Shiyan. Agency: University of Harbin. Perigee: 598 km (371 mi). Apogee: 616 km (382 mi). Inclination: 97.70 deg. Period: 96.80 min. COSPAR: 2004-012A. USAF Sat Cat: 28220. China's first transmission-type small satellite capable of stereo mapping. It was jointly designed by the Harbin Polytechnic University, Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology, Changchun Photomechanical Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)and Xi'an Surveys and Designs Institute. The experiment satellite carried out photographic surveys of China's land resources, monitored the geographical environment and conducted scientific research on mapping. It was handed over for use to the Satellite Remote-Sensing Ground Station of CAS following the on-orbit testing.References: 4.

• Naxing 1 Nation: China. Mass: 25 kg (55 lb). Class: Surveillance. Spacecraft: OlympicSat. Agency: Tsinghua University. Perigee: 599 km (372 mi). Apogee: 616 km (382 mi). Inclination: 97.70 deg. Period: 96.80 min. COSPAR: 2004-012B. USAF Sat Cat: 28221. Naxing 1 (a contraction of Nami Weixing 'Nanosatellite') was designed for high-tech experiments. The satellite was developed and will be used by the elite Qinghua University and the Aerospace Qinghua Satellite Technologies Co. Ltd. References: 4.

• Unannounced Chinese satellite? Nation: China. Class: Surveillance. Agency: PLA?. Perigee: 339 km (210 mi). Apogee: 532 km (330 mi). Inclination: 97.70 deg. Period: 93.30 min. COSPAR: 2004-012D. USAF Sat Cat: 28223. The announced mass of the two satellites launched was far less than the payload capability of the CZ-2C. It was believed that an unannounced military satellite may have been orbited. Object 2004-12D was in a much lower perigee orbit of 350 x 606 km x 97 deg and may have separated prior to second stage vernier cutoff.References: 4.

• Tan Ce 2 Nation: China. Payload: Double Star 2, DSP-P. Mass: 660 kg (1,450 lb). Class: Earth. Type: Magnetosphere. Spacecraft: Double Star. Manufacturer: Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Ltd. Perigee: 655 km (406 mi). Apogee: 38,574 km (23,968 mi). Inclination: 90.00 deg. Period: 695.10 min. COSPAR: 2004-029A. USAF Sat Cat: 28382. Delayed from June, July 20

• FSW-3 No. 2 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-19. Mass: 2,100 kg (4,600 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Perigee: 168 km (104 mi). Apogee: 547 km (339 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 91.70 min. COSPAR: 2004-033A. USAF Sat Cat: 28402. Duration: 26.67 days. Decay Date: 2004-11-07. Recoverable satellite officially stated to be conducting space scientific research, land surveying, mapping and other scientific experiments. Said to have improved experimental technology, with higher orientation precision and more complex on-board computers and software. Controlled from the Xian Satellite Monitoring and Control Centre. Successfully re-entered and recovered after 27 days in space at 23:55 GMT on 24 September.

• Shiyan Weixing 2 Nation: China. Payload: TANSUO 2. Mass: 300 kg (660 lb). Class: Earth. Type: Resources. Manufacturer: Dongfanghong Satellite Co. Perigee: 694 km (431 mi). Apogee: 711 km (441 mi). Inclination: 98.20 deg. Period: 98.80 min. COSPAR: 2004-046A. USAF Sat Cat: 28479. Remote Sensing Technology.

• FSW-3 No. 4 Nation: China. Payload: FSW-21. Mass: 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: CAST. Manufacturer: SAST. Perigee: 153 km (95 mi). Apogee: 259 km (160 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 88.60 min. COSPAR: 2005-027A. USAF Sat Cat: 28776. Duration: 27.00 days. Decay Date: 2005-08-29. Military reconnaisance satellite, which maneuvered to raise its apogee on Aug 5 and 7 to a 166 x 552 km x 63.0 orbit; and again to the same altitude on Aug 19 after the apogee decayed to 535 km. Return capsule with film aboard recovered on 29 August.

• SJ-8 Nation: China. Mass: 3,000 kg (6,600 lb). Class: Technology. Spacecraft: FSW. Agency: CASC. Manufacturer: SAST. Perigee: 173 km (107 mi). Apogee: 336 km (208 mi). Inclination: 63.00 deg. Period: 89.60 min. COSPAR: 2006-035A. USAF Sat Cat: 29385. Duration: 14.82 days. Long delayed Seed Satellite, an experiment in which a large payload of seeds were exposed to te space environment for two weeks. The modified FSW optical reconnaisance satellite capsule was recovered in Sichuan at 02:43 GMT on September 24.

• Haiyang 1B Nation: China. Class: Surveillance. Type: Ocean. Spacecraft: HY-1. Agency: CASC. Manufacturer: AS-DFH-Sat Ltd. Perigee: 782 km (485 mi). Apogee: 815 km (506 mi). Inclination: 98.60 deg. Period: 100.80 min. COSPAR: 2007-010A. USAF Sat Cat: 31113. Oceanographic satellite equipped with a 10-band ocean color scanner, a 4-band CCD imager with 250-meter resolution, and an infrared water profile radiometer.

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