Long March 6A

The Long March 6A () or Chang Zheng 6A as in pinyin, abbreviated LM 6A for export or CZ 6A within China, is a Chinese medium-lift launch vehicle in the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The vehicle is a further development of the Long March 6, with two YF-100 engines on the first stage as opposed to one on the Long March 6, augmented by four solid rocket boosters. The Long March 6A is China's first rocket with solid rocket boosters, and only one so far to combine solid and liquid fuel technology in one rocket. There also exists a shorter boosterless variant of the 6A called the Long March 6C.

The maiden launch of the Long March 6A took place on March 29, 2022, successfully reaching orbit. It was also the first launch from the newly built launch complex 9A in Taiyuan.

Launch statistics

List of launches

Flight number Serial number Date (UTC) Launch site Payload Orbit Result 1 Y1 29 March 202209:50 Taiyuan, LA-9A Pujiang-2Tiankun-2 SSO 2 Y2 11 November 202222:52 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yunhai-3 01 SSO 3 Y5 10 September 202304:30 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yaogan 40-01AYaogan 40-01BYaogan 40-01C LEO 4 Y4 31 October 202322:50 Taiyuan, LA-9A Tianhui 5ATianhui 5B SSO 5 Y3 26 March 202422:51 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yunhai-3 02 SSO 6 Y7 4 July 202422:49 Taiyuan, LA-9A Tianhui 5CTianhui 5D SSO 7 Y21 6 August 202406:42 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group 01) Polar 8 Y20 15 October 202411:06 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group 02) Polar 9 Y22 5 December 202404:41 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group 03) Polar 10 Y6 23 January 202505:15 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group 06) Polar 11 Y11 18 April 202522:51 Taiyuan, LA-9A Shiyan 27-01Shiyan 27-02Shiyan 27-03Shiyan 27-04Shiyan 27-05Shiyan 27-06 SSO 12 Y9 11 May 202513:27 Taiyuan, LA-9AYaogan 40-02AYaogan 40-02BYaogan 40-02CPolar 13 Y8 5 June 202520:45 Taiyuan, LA-9A Huliangwang × 5 (SatNet LEO Group 04) LEO 14 Y14 27 July 202510:03 Taiyuan, LA-9A Huliangwang × 5 (SatNet LEO Group 05) LEO 15 Y10 17 August 202514:15 Taiyuan, LA-9A Huliangwang × 5 (SatNet LEO Group 09) LEO 16 Y12 6 September 202516:34 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yaogan 40-03AYaogan 40-03BYaogan 40-03C Polar 17 Y16 27 September 202512:40 Taiyuan, LA-9A Huliangwang × 5 (SatNet LEO Group 11) LEO 18 Y24 17 October 202507:08 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group 18) Polar 19 Y15 8 December 202522:11 Taiyuan, LA-9A Huliangwang × 5 (SatNet LEO Group 15) LEO 20 Y27 13 January 202614:16 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yaogan 50-01 LEO 21 Y28 15 March 202613:22 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yaogan 50-02 LEO 22 Y17 8 April 202619:38 Taiyuan, LA-9A Huliangwang × 5 (SatNet LEO Group 21) LEO 23 Y23 12 May 202611:59 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group #8) Polar 24 Y25 4 June 202611:39 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group #11) Polar 25 Y26 4 July 202609:30 Taiyuan, LA-9A Qianfan × 18 (G60 Polar Group #13) Polar 26 Y18 30 July 202601:00 Taiyuan, LA-9A TJS-27ATJS-27B LEO 27 Y13 24 September 202608:46 Taiyuan, LA-9A Yaogan 40-04AYaogan 40-04BYaogan 40-04C Polar

Anomalies Some upper stages fragmented before reentry After the release of Yunhai 3 following the Y2 launch of 11 November 2022, the Long March 6 upper stage broke up into more than 50 pieces of debris, which later expanded to more than 781 pieces. The vehicle was intended to re-enter in one piece and burn up. Following the November 2022 breakup, similar events were observed after the launches of 26 March 2024, 4 July 2024, and 6 August 2024. The reason for the breakups is unclear, but it may be related to upper stage passivation or insulation.

Long March 6A

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