Long March family
Long March 3B/YZ-1
The Long March 3B is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocket with four strap-on liquid rocket boosters, it is currently the most powerful member of the Long March rocket family and the heaviest of the Long March 3 rocket family, and is mainly used to place communications satellites into geosynchronous orbits.
Flights flown15
Success rate100%15/15
Payload to LEO11,500kg
Cost per kg to LEO$6,087$70M per launch
Maiden flight1996-02-14
Peak year20188 flights
Long March 3B/YZ-1 is built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation of China. It first flew on 25 July 2015.
Flight record
100% success rate15 of 15 flown
2015peak 2018 · 8 flights2024
First flight2015-07-25
Latest flight2024-09-19
Failures0
Consecutive successes15
Fastest turnaround23d 6h
Payload
| Low Earth orbit | 11,500kg |
|---|---|
| Geostationary transfer orbit | 5,100kg |
| Geostationary orbit | 2,000kg |
| Launch cost | $70M |
| Cost per kg to LEO | $6,087 |
Vehicle
| Stages | 3 |
|---|---|
| Length | 54.8m |
| Diameter | 3.35m |
| Launch mass | 425t |
| Liftoff thrust | 5,923kN |
| Maiden flight | 1996-02-14 |
| Reusable | No |
Pads used
Orbits delivered
Medium Earth Orbit12
Launch history
| Date | Mission | Pad | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09-19 | Long March 3B/YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M25 & M27 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2023-12-26 | Long March 3B/YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M26 & M28 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2019-12-16 | Long March 3B/YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M19 & M20 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Success | |
| 2019-11-23 | Long March 3B/YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M21 & M22 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Success | |
| 2019-09-22 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M23 & M24 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Success | |
| 2018-11-18 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M17 & M18 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-10-15 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M15 & M16 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-09-19 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M13 & M14 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-08-24 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M11 & M12 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-07-29 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M5 & M6 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-03-29 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M9 & M10 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-02-12 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M3 & M4 | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2018-01-11 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M7 & M8 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2017-11-05 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | Beidou-3 M1 & M2 | Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
| 2015-07-25 | Long March 3B / YZ-1 | BDS M1-S & BDS M2-S | Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) | Medium Earth Orbit | Success |
Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.
Further reading: Wikipedia