Long March 6A

Long March 6A

Rendering of Long March 6A
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	50 m (160 ft) 52 m (171 ft) with extended fairing
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Mass	530,000 kg (1,170,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	8,000 kg (18,000 lb)[1]
Payload to 700 km (430 mi) SSO
Mass	4,500 kg (9,900 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Comparable	Antares Soyuz-2
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Taiyuan, LA-9A
Total launches	7
Success(es)	7
First flight	29 March 2022
Last flight	6 August 2024
Boosters – FG-112
No. boosters	4
Height	15.1 m (50 ft)
Diameter	2.0 m (6 ft 7 in)
Maximum thrust	1,214 kN (273,000 lbf)
Total thrust	4,828 kN (1,085,000 lbf)
Propellant	solid
First stage
Height	30.5 m (100 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Powered by	2 × YF-100
Maximum thrust	2,376 kN (534,000 lbf) [2]
Specific impulse	SL: 300 s (2.9 km/s) vac: 335 s (3.29 km/s)[3]
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Second stage
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Powered by	1 × YF-115
Maximum thrust	180 kN (40,000 lbf)[2]
Specific impulse	vac: 341.5 s (3.349 km/s)[4]
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

The Long March 6A (Chinese: 长征六号甲运载火箭) 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) ^[5] and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST).

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. 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.^[6] It was also the first launch from the newly built launch complex 9A in Taiyuan.