The current launch was the 362nd for the Changzheng series of launch vehicles."
BEIJING, March 12. /TASS/. China on Friday successfully launched a modified Changzheng-7A launch vehicle (CZ-7A, Long March-7A) with an experimental environmental monitoring satellite. This was announced by the China Space Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The launch took place on Friday night at 01:51 local time (20:51 Thursday Moscow time) from the Wenchang cosmodrome in the southern Chinese province of Hainan. The experimental satellite entered the specified orbit. The current launch was the 362nd for the Changzheng series of launch vehicles.
The first launch of the Changzheng-7A was made in March 2020, but it was considered unsuccessful. According to Ma Junghui, Deputy chief designer of the launch vehicle, " the successful launch of the CZ-7A symbolizes the modernization of Chinese launch vehicles." He also noted that " the modified version of the rocket uses environmentally friendly fuel from liquid oxygen and kerosene."
"Changzheng-7A" reaches a length of 60.1 m, which is 7 meters more than "Changzheng-7" (CZ-7, Long March-7). Unlike the two-stage CZ-7, the CZ-7A has three stages. The launch mass of the modified version is 573 tons, while its payload capacity is greater than that of the CZ-7: the latter is capable of putting 5.5 tons into a geosynchronous transition orbit, and its modified version is at least 7 tons.
It is expected that by 2025, the Changzheng-7A will be used at full load and perform three to five flights annually.
