Orbital launch vehicle
Tianlong-2
Tianlong-2 is a medium-sized, 3 stage rocket powered by RP-1 and liquid oxygen, with payload capability of 2 tonnes to LEO and 1.5 tonnes to SSO. Tianlong-2 has a liftoff weight of 150 tonnes, liftoff thrust of 190 tonnes and initially uses 3 YF-102 expander cycle RP-1/LOX engines on the first stage each with a thrust of 63.3 metric tonnes. The second stage uses 1 TH-11 staged combustion RP-1/LOX with a thrust of 30.6 metric tonnes. 7 TH-11 engines will be used for the 1st stage of subsequent vehicles. The third stage uses 1 TH-31 NTO/MMH hypergolic fuel engine with 3000 N thrust and 8 x 150 N RCS thrusters. The Tianlong-2 is the first Chinese RP-1-fueled private orbital rocket to attempt an orbital flight.
Tianlong-2 is built by Space Pioneer of China. Company background, funding, contracts and news for this operator are tracked on Space Index. It first flew on 2 April 2023.
Flight record
Payload
| Low Earth orbit | 2,000kg |
|---|---|
| Sun-synchronous orbit | 1,500kg |
Vehicle
| Stages | 3 |
|---|---|
| Length | 32.8m |
| Diameter | 3.35m |
| Launch mass | 150t |
| Liftoff thrust | 1,863kN |
| Maiden flight | 2023-04-02 |
| Reusable | No |
Pads used
Orbits delivered
Launch history
| Date | Mission | Pad | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-04-02 | Tianlong-2 | Demo Flight | Launch Area 120 | Sun-Synchronous 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
Fewer than three recorded flights, so this page is marked noindex. It is here for completeness, not for search.