Long March 3
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.
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 | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Result |
| 1 | 29 January 1984 12:25 | LA-3, XSLC | STTW 1 | GTO | |
| 2 | 8 April 1984 11:20 | LA-3, XSLC | STTW 2 | GTO | |
| 3 | 1 February 1986 12:37 | LA-3, XSLC | DFH-2-1 | GTO | |
| 4 | 7 March 1988 12:41 | LA-3, XSLC | DFH-2A-1 | GTO | |
| 5 | 22 December 1988 12:40 | LA-3, XSLC | DFH-2A-2 | GTO | |
| 6 | 4 February 1990 12:28 | LA-3, XSLC | DFH-2A-3 | GTO | |
| 7 | 7 April 1990 13:30 | LA-3, XSLC | AsiaSat 1 | GTO | |
| 8 | 28 December 1991 12:00 | LA-3, XSLC | DFH-2A-4 | GTO | |
| 9 | 21 July 1994 10:55 | LA-3, XSLC | APStar 1 | GTO | |
| 10 | 3 July 1996 10:47 | LA-3, XSLC | APStar 1A | GTO | |
| 11 | 18 August 1996 10:27 | LA-3, XSLC | ChinaSat 7 | GTO | |
| 12 | 10 June 1997 12:01 | LA-3, XSLC | Fengyun 2A | GTO | |
| 13 | 25 June 2000 11:50 | LA-3, XSLC | Fengyun 2B | GTO |
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
| Series | 3 | 3A | 3B | 3B/E | 3C | 3C/E |
| Model | Image:CZ-3.svg|40px|center|Long March 3 | Image:CZ-3A.svg|40px|center|Long March 3A | Image:CZ-3B.svg|40px|center|Long March 3B | Image:CZ-3B.svg|40px|center|Long March 3B/E | Image:CZ-3C.svg|40px|center|Long March 3C | Image:CZ-3C.svg|40px|center|Long March 3C/E |
| Stages | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Length | 43.2 | 52.5 | 54.8 | 56.3 | 54.8 | 56.3 |
| Max. diameter | 3.35 | 3.35 | 3.35 | 3.35 | 3.35 | 3.35 |
| Liftoff mass | 204 | 241 | 426 | 459 | 345 | 378 |
| Liftoff thrust | 2,962 | 2,962 | 5,923 | 5,923 | 4,442 | 4,442 |
| Payload | 5,000 | 8,500 | 11,500 | 11,500 | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| Payload | 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.| Derivatives | Status | First flight | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
| Long March 3 | 29 January 1984 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | |
| Long March 3A | 8 February 1994 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3B | 14 February 1996 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | |
| Long March 3B/E | 13 May 2007 | 101 | 99 | 1 | 1 | |
| Long March 3C | 25 April 2008 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3C/E | 23 October 2014 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |