Long March 7
 |
|
| Function | Medium to heavy orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | CALT |
| Country of origin | China |
| Size | |
| Height | 53.10 m (174.2 ft) |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Mass | 594,000 kg (1,310,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO (200km x 400km x 42°) | 13,500 kg (29,800 lb) |
| Payload to SSO 700km | 5,500 kg (12,100 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | Long March |
| Comparable | Delta IV, Atlas V, Falcon 9, H-IIA |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Wenchang LC-2 |
| Total launches | 2 |
| Successes | 2 |
| First flight | June 25, 2016 |
| Boosters - K2 booster | |
| No. boosters | 4 |
| Length | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Diameter | 2.25 m (7.4 ft) |
| Engines | 1 YF-100 |
| Thrust |
SL: 1,200 kN (270,000 lbf) Vac: 1,340 kN (300,000 lbf) |
| Total thrust |
SL: 4,800 kN (1,100,000 lbf) Vac: 5,360 kN (1,200,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse |
SL: 300 seconds (2.9 km/s) Vac: 335 seconds (3.29 km/s) |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| First stage - K3 core module | |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Engines | 2 YF-100 |
| Thrust |
SL: 2,400 kN (540,000 lbf) Vac: 2,680 kN (600,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse |
SL: 300 seconds (2.9 km/s) Vac: 335 seconds (3.29 km/s) |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Diameter | 3.35 m (11.0 ft) |
| Engines | 4 YF-115 |
| Thrust | 706 kN (159,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 342 seconds (3.35 km/s) |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Third stage - Yuanzheng-1A(Optional) | |
| Engines | 1 YF-50D |
| Thrust | 6.5 kN (1,500 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 315.5 seconds (3.094 km/s) |
| Fuel | UDMH/N2O4 |
The Long March 7 (Chinese: 长征七号运载火箭), or Chang Zheng 7 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM-7 for export or CZ-7 within China, originally Long March 2F/H or Chang Zheng 2F/H, is a Chinese liquid-fuelled carrier rocket, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It made its inaugural flight on June 25, 2016.
Designed as a replacement of the Long March 2F, Long March 7 and its variants are expected to be the workhorse of the fleet, eventually accounting for around 70% of all Chinese launches. Long March 7 will also play a critical role in the Chinese Space Station. It was used to launch the Tianzhou robotic cargo spacecraft, and will eventually replace the Long March 2F as China's crew-rated launch vehicle.
The Long March 7 project started in 2008 with the formation of the development team within the traditional designer of space launch vehicles, CALT. With the acquisition of the RD-120 technology and development of the YF-100 and YF-115 engines, the original plan was to re-engine the Long March 2F. The Long March 2F/H, as it would have been called, would "just" switch from N2O4/UDMH to a LOX/kerosene propellant and improved thrust engines to offer better performance. But the switch resulted in a cascade of changes that increased the project complexity significantly.
At the same time, the original Long March 5 project was expected to include heavy, medium and light versions. Since the Long March 2F/H and the medium Long March 5 had significant overlaps, it was decided to merge both projects. This way, the high reliability and flight legacy components and technologies of the Long March 2F were merged with the new technologies developed for the Long March 5. Although finished nearly at the same time, the Long March 6 was a completely separate product developed by a young team within SAST. As such, it shares little more than tank diameters and propulsion with the LM-5 and LM7, but does cover the range of payloads between the medium Long March 7 and the very light Long March 11.
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Wikipedia