CZ-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) |
| Diameter | 3.35 metres (11.0 ft) |
| Mass | 460,000 kilograms (1,010,000 lb) |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 9,500 kilograms (20,900 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb) |
| 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.
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.
^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.
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Wikipedia