The Long March 6A (Chinese: 长征六号甲运载火箭) or Chang Zheng 6A as in pinyin, abbreviated LM 6A for export or CZ 6A within China, is a Chinese medium-lift launch vehicle in the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST).
The vehicle is a further development of the Long March 6, with two YF-100 engines on the first stage as opposed to one on the Long March 6, augmented by four solid rocket boosters. The Long March 6A is China's first rocket with solid rocket boosters, and only one so far to combine solid and liquid fuel technology in one rocket. There also exists a shorter boosterless variant of the 6A called the Long March 6C.
The maiden launch of the Long March 6A took place on March 29, 2022, successfully reaching orbit. It was also the first launch from the newly built launch complex 9A in Taiyuan.
Launch statistics
List of launches
Mishaps
After the release of the Yunhai 3 following the Y2 launch of 11 November 2022, the Long March 6's upper stage broke up into more than 50 pieces of debris, which expanded to more than 781 pieces. The vehicle was supposed to re-enter in one piece and then burn up. Following the November 2022 breakup, similar events were observed after the 26 March 2024, 4 July 2024, and 6 August 2024 launches. The reason for the break ups are unclear, but may be related to upper stage passivation or insulation.
See also
- Comparison of orbital launchers families
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
References
