The Long March 3 (), also known as the Changzheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. They were all launched from Launch Area 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It was a three-stage rocket, intended for GTO launch, and was mostly used to place DFH-2-class communications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits. The first 2 stages were derived from the Long March 2C.LM-3A Series LV User Manual 2011
It was complemented and later replaced by the more powerful Long March 3A, which has an improved third stage.
Launch statistics Original LM 3 only.
List of launches
Flight number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Result129 January 198412:25LA-3, XSLCSTTW 1GTO (intended)28 April 198411:20LA-3, XSLCSTTW 2GTO31 February 198612:37LA-3, XSLCDFH-2-1GTO47 March 198812:41LA-3, XSLCDFH-2A-1 (ChinaSat 1)GTO522 December 198812:40LA-3, XSLCDFH-2A-2 (ChinaSat 2)GTO64 February 199012:28LA-3, XSLCDFH-2A-3 (ChinaSat 3)GTO77 April 199013:30LA-3, XSLCAsiaSat 1GTO828 December 199112:00LA-3, XSLCDFH-2A-4 (ChinaSat 4)GTO (intended)921 July 199410:55LA-3, XSLCAPStar 1GTO103 July 199610:47LA-3, XSLCAPStar 1AGTO1118 August 199610:27LA-3, XSLCChinaSat 7GTO (intended)1210 June 199712:01LA-3, XSLCFengyun 2AGTO1325 June 200011:50LA-3, XSLCFengyun 2BGTO
Launch failures
Dong Fang Hong 2 launch failure On 29 January 1984, a LM-3 rocket failed during launch. The third stage failed 4 s after restart for GTO insertion of the satellite, due to incorrect mixture ratio in the engine gas generator, which caused high temperatures and burned out the turbine casing. However, many planned tests on the experimental communications spacecraft were still carried out in the resulting elliptical orbit.
ChinaSat 4 launch failure On 28 December 1991, a LM-3 rocket failed during launch. The third-stage engine suffered a loss of turbine speed and combustion pressure 58 s after re-igniting for the second burn for GTO insertion and shut down completely 135 s after re-ignition. Loss of pressure in the high-pressure helium supply used for engine control had reduced the propellant flow.
ChinaSat 7 launch failure On 18 August 1996, a LM-3 rocket failed during launch. The third-stage engine shut down roughly 40 s earlier than planned because of a fire in the LH2 injector of the gas generator. Insufficient purging had permitted oxygen to freeze in the gas generator during flight.
Including other LM-3 variants Specifications of all LM-3 types
+SpecificationsSeries33A3B3B/E3C3C/EModelStages333 (plus 4 strap-on boosters)3 (plus 4 strap-on boosters)3 (plus 2 strap-on boosters)3 (plus 2 strap-on boosters)Length (m)43.252.554.856.354.856.3Max. diameter (m)3.353.353.353.353.353.35Liftoff mass (t)204241426459345378Liftoff thrust (kN)2,9622,9625,9235,9234,4424,442Payload (LEO, kg)5,0008,500 11,50011,5008,0008,000Payload (GTO, kg)1,500 2,600 5,100 5,500 3,800 3,900
Launch history for all LM-3 types
The following launch statistics are gathered from the individual Wikipedia pages of each CZ-3x variants as those pages are updated more frequently by various editors; the numbers are current as of 15 December 2025.
+Long March 3 (rocket family)DerivativesStatusFirst flightLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresLong March 329 January 1984131021Long March 3A8 February 1994272700Long March 3B14 February 1996121011Long March 3B/E13 May 20071019911Long March 3C25 April 2008121200Long March 3C/E23 October 20148800
References