Long March 7

Quick Facts About Long March 7.

- Type : Medium to heavy launch vehicle.

- Origin : China.

- Manufacturer: CALT.

- In service : 25 June 2016 - Active.

- Mass :CZ-7: 597,000 kg (1,316,000 lb), CZ-7A: 573,000 kg (1,263,000 lb).

- Length/Height : CZ-7: 53.10 m (174.2 ft), CZ-7A: 60.13 m (197.3 ft).

- Diameter : 3.35 m (11.0 ft).

- Payload to LEO : 13,500 kg (29,800 lb).

- Payload to GTO : 7,000 kg (15,000 lb).

- Payload to TLI : 5,000 kg (11,000 lb).

- PAyload to SSO : 5,500 kg (12,100 lb).

- Propellant: Boosters/First/Second stage: RP-1 / LOX. Third stage: LH2 / LOX.

- Engines: Boosters: 4 x 1 YF-100 with thrust of 4,800 kN (1,100,000 lbf). First stage: 2 × YF-100 with thrust of 2,400 kN (540,000 lbf) (Sea level). Second stage : 4 × YF-115 with thrust of 706 kN (159,000 lbf). Third stage(CZ-7A): 2 x YF-75 with thrust of 167.17 kN (37,580 lbf).

Designed as a replacement of the Long March 2F, Long March 7 and its variants are expected to be the workhorse of the fleet, eventually accounting for around 70% of all Chinese launches. Long March 7 will also play a critical role in the Chinese Space Station. It was used to launch the Tianzhou robotic cargo spacecraft, and will eventually replace the Long March 2F as China's crew-rated launch vehicle.

The Long March 7 is the medium-lift variant of a new generation rocket family that includes the heavier-lift Long March 5 and the small-mid cargo Long March 6. The structure is based on the reliable, man-rated Long March 2F launch vehicle. It inherited the 3.35 m-diameter core stage and 2.25 m-diameter liquid rocket boosters. Where the earlier Long March 2 rocket family used expensive and dangerous N2O4 / UDMH propellants, the Long March 7 uses LOX and kerosene. The engines are shared with the Long March 5 and 6. The goal was to build a more cost-effective and less hazardous rocket family to replace today's Long March 2 and eventually the Long March 3.