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Long March 2F
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Long March 2F
The Long March 2F (LM-2F; Chinese: 长征二号F火箭), also known as Chang Zheng 2F (CZ-2F), is a Chinese human-rated two-stage hypergolic-fuelled medium-lift launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Launching the Shenzhou spacecraft on all 22 flights of the Shenzhou program, it is one of three in-service orbital rockets worldwide to have launched multiple crews, alongside Russia's Soyuz-2 and the US Falcon 9.
The Long March 2F is a two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. The entire family is based on the Soviet R-2. The rocket is entirely fuelled by the hypergolic mixture of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide. The first stage is powered by four YF-20B engines, as well as four boosters each with one such engine; the second stage uses one YF-24 engine.
It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 2F made its maiden flight on 19 November 1999, with the Shenzhou 1 spacecraft. After the flight of Shenzhou 3, Chinese President Jiang Zemin named the rocket Shenjian (神箭, lit. 'Divine Arrow').
On 15 October 2003, a Long March 2F launched Shenzhou 5, China's maiden crewed mission and achieved its first human spaceflight. Since then, the rocket has launched twenty-one more missions into orbit with the latest being the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft. Since 2021, it provides crew access to the Tiangong space station. The rocket launched the prototype space stations of the Tiangong program: Tiangong-1 (crewed 2012 and 2013) and Tiangong-2 (crewed 2016). The Long March 2F is also the launch vehicle for the clandestine Chinese reusable experimental spaceplane.
Externally, the rocket is similar to the Long March 2E from which it was derived. Most of the changes involve the addition of redundant systems to improve safety, although there are some structural modifications that allow the rocket to support the heavier fairing required by the Shenzhou capsule. The rocket is also capable of lifting heavier payloads with the addition of extra boosters to the first stage.
The rocket also has an "advanced fault monitoring and diagnosis system to help the astronauts escape in time of emergency" (in other words, a launch escape system), and is the first Chinese made rocket to be assembled and rolled out to its launch site vertically.
The Long March 2F/G and Long March 2F/T are improved variants of the Long March 2F. Development of the upgraded versions was approved in 2004, and first launched on 29 September 2011 carrying the Tiangong-1 space laboratory.
The improved variants introduced extensive changes to the rocket's core systems. The booster propellant tanks were redesigned with conical upper sections instead of elliptical domes, increasing propellant capacity and improving low Earth orbit performance. Booster separation was also delayed from 140 seconds after liftoff to 153 seconds, shortly before first-stage separation.
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Long March 2F
The Long March 2F (LM-2F; Chinese: 长征二号F火箭), also known as Chang Zheng 2F (CZ-2F), is a Chinese human-rated two-stage hypergolic-fuelled medium-lift launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Launching the Shenzhou spacecraft on all 22 flights of the Shenzhou program, it is one of three in-service orbital rockets worldwide to have launched multiple crews, alongside Russia's Soyuz-2 and the US Falcon 9.
The Long March 2F is a two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. The entire family is based on the Soviet R-2. The rocket is entirely fuelled by the hypergolic mixture of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide. The first stage is powered by four YF-20B engines, as well as four boosters each with one such engine; the second stage uses one YF-24 engine.
It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 2F made its maiden flight on 19 November 1999, with the Shenzhou 1 spacecraft. After the flight of Shenzhou 3, Chinese President Jiang Zemin named the rocket Shenjian (神箭, lit. 'Divine Arrow').
On 15 October 2003, a Long March 2F launched Shenzhou 5, China's maiden crewed mission and achieved its first human spaceflight. Since then, the rocket has launched twenty-one more missions into orbit with the latest being the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft. Since 2021, it provides crew access to the Tiangong space station. The rocket launched the prototype space stations of the Tiangong program: Tiangong-1 (crewed 2012 and 2013) and Tiangong-2 (crewed 2016). The Long March 2F is also the launch vehicle for the clandestine Chinese reusable experimental spaceplane.
Externally, the rocket is similar to the Long March 2E from which it was derived. Most of the changes involve the addition of redundant systems to improve safety, although there are some structural modifications that allow the rocket to support the heavier fairing required by the Shenzhou capsule. The rocket is also capable of lifting heavier payloads with the addition of extra boosters to the first stage.
The rocket also has an "advanced fault monitoring and diagnosis system to help the astronauts escape in time of emergency" (in other words, a launch escape system), and is the first Chinese made rocket to be assembled and rolled out to its launch site vertically.
The Long March 2F/G and Long March 2F/T are improved variants of the Long March 2F. Development of the upgraded versions was approved in 2004, and first launched on 29 September 2011 carrying the Tiangong-1 space laboratory.
The improved variants introduced extensive changes to the rocket's core systems. The booster propellant tanks were redesigned with conical upper sections instead of elliptical domes, increasing propellant capacity and improving low Earth orbit performance. Booster separation was also delayed from 140 seconds after liftoff to 153 seconds, shortly before first-stage separation.
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