Long March 2E
Encyclopedia
The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese
orbit
al carrier rocket. Designed to launch commercial communications satellite
s, the Long March 2E was retired in favour of the Long March 3B
, after two launch failures. Launched from complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, it is a three-stage carrier rocket. The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990, and was retired on 28 December 1995. It forms the basis of the Long March 2F
, used to launch manned Shenzhou
missions. The booster rockets have also been reused on the Long March 3B
and Long March 3C
.
caused the payload fairing to implode 45 seconds into flight. Despite this, the rocket continued on to orbit, and deployed what was left of the upper stage and payload into a low Earth orbit
. The second failure occurred on 25 January 1995, during the launch of Apstar 2. Again, windshear led to the collapse of the payload fairing, however on this occasion, the rocket exploded. Debris fell on a nearby village killing a number of residents.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
al carrier rocket. Designed to launch commercial communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s, the Long March 2E was retired in favour of the Long March 3B
Long March 3B
The Long March 3B , also known as the Chang Zheng 3B, CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre...
, after two launch failures. Launched from complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, it is a three-stage carrier rocket. The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990, and was retired on 28 December 1995. It forms the basis of the Long March 2F
Long March 2F
The Long March 2F , also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian, is a Chinese manned orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March rocket family. Designed to launch manned Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a man-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based...
, used to launch manned Shenzhou
Shenzhou
Shenzhou may refer to:*Shenzhou , or "Divine Land", name of China*Shenzhou City, in Hebei, China*Shenzhou , an album by ambient musician Biosphere*Shenzhou program, a manned spaceflight initiative by the People's Republic of China...
missions. The booster rockets have also been reused on the Long March 3B
Long March 3B
The Long March 3B , also known as the Chang Zheng 3B, CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre...
and Long March 3C
Long March 3C
The Long March 3C , also known as the Chang Zheng 3C, CZ-3C and LM-3C, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It is launched from Launch Complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. A 3-stage rocket with two strapon liquid rocket boosters, it is a member of the Long March 3 rocket family, and...
.
Launches
The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990 and made 7 launches in total. The first failed launch occurred on 21 December 1992, during the launch of the original Optus B2. WindshearWindShear
The Windshear Full Scale Rolling Road Wind Tunnel is an automotive wind tunnel in Concord, North Carolina.In January 2008 Wind Shear, a division of US machine tool builder Haas Automat-80.7ion, completed construction on one of the most advanced automotive wind tunnels in the world. The full-scale...
caused the payload fairing to implode 45 seconds into flight. Despite this, the rocket continued on to orbit, and deployed what was left of the upper stage and payload into a low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. The second failure occurred on 25 January 1995, during the launch of Apstar 2. Again, windshear led to the collapse of the payload fairing, however on this occasion, the rocket exploded. Debris fell on a nearby village killing a number of residents.