Issue 18

11 Mar 21: On its second attempt, China successfully launched the Long March 7A (LM-7A) from Wenchang launch facility on Hainan Island. The launch placed the Shiyan-9 experimental satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). See Launch Video.

– The Long March 7A is a 60.1-meter-long, 3.35-meter-diameter kerosene and liquid oxygen launch vehicle with four side boosters, capable of delivering up to 7 metric tons of payload to GTO.

– The launcher draws on new kerosene engine technologies along with a stage modified from the older Long March 3B series, China’s current workhorse rocket, boosting China’s launch options to GTO.

– The Long March 7A is more capable than the Long March 3B, which can launch 5.5 tons to GTO. By launching from the coast, it also does not incur the cost and hazards of inland Long March 3B launches.

– The first launch of the Long March 7A failed in March 2020. A loss of pressure occurred after first stage separation, leading to engine malfunction.

– The mission carried the Shiyan-9 (SY-9) to GTO. Shiyan means “experiment” in Chinese. Xinhua news agency said the spacecraft is designed “for in-orbit tests of new technologies including space environment monitoring.”

– SY-9 is currently in an elliptical, or oval-shaped, orbit ranging between 155 miles and 22,270 miles (250-by-35,840 kilometers), with an inclination of 19.5 degrees to the equator, according to independent tracking data released by the U.S. military.

China’s new Long March 5, 6, 7 and 8 rockets are designed to eventually replace the country’s older Long March vehicles, which use toxic propellants and launch from inland spaceports, often dropping spent stages near populated areas. The Long March 7A rocket is a potential replacement for the Long March 3B for launches with geostationary satellites, offering a 25% improvement in payload capacity to geostationary transfer orbit.