Long March 2C

Long March 2C

The Long March 2C (Chinese: 长征二号丙, also written CZ-2C) is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle operated by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). A member of China's venerable Long March rocket family, it serves as a reliable medium-lift workhorse for low Earth orbit missions, carrying payloads for both domestic and international customers.

Design and Capability

The Long March 2C stands 42 metres tall with a core diameter of 3.35 metres, dimensions shared across much of the Long March 2 family. It is a two-stage liquid-propellant rocket, burning nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) — a propellant combination common throughout the Long March lineage. The vehicle is capable of delivering up to 3,850 kg to low Earth orbit, placing it in a capable but focused performance class well suited to medium-sized satellites and multi-manifest missions. A restartable upper stage variant has also been employed for missions requiring more precise orbit injection.

History and Operations

The Long March 2C first flew in 1982, making it one of China's longest-serving operational launch vehicles. Across more than four decades of service, it has accumulated a strong reliability record. Our flight data covers 65 tracked launches through 2026, of which 64 were fully successful — a testament to the maturity of the design and the rigor of CASC's production and launch operations.

The rocket has launched from multiple sites within China's inland launch complex network, including Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and Xichang Satellite Launch Center, with site selection typically driven by mission orbital requirements.

Customers and Payloads

The Long March 2C has served a range of customers over its operational life. Early missions were closely tied to Chinese government programs under the Ministry of Space Industry, the Ministry of Aerospace Industry, and the China Aerospace Corporation — institutional predecessors and predecessors-in-interest to the modern CASC structure. In more recent years, the vehicle has increasingly supported commercial Earth observation and remote sensing constellations.

Recent missions reflect this evolution clearly. The rocket has lofted SuperView Neo commercial imaging satellites, the PIESAT-2 synthetic aperture radar constellation, and the Shijian 30 experimental spacecraft series. Notably, it has also carried international payloads, including AlSat 3A and AlSat 3B, Algerian Earth observation satellites, demonstrating China's continued pursuit of launch service export opportunities.

Legacy and Significance

Few orbital launch vehicles anywhere in the world can claim an active career spanning more than four decades. The Long March 2C's longevity is a product of incremental refinement rather than radical redesign, and it remains a competitive option for customers seeking a proven, medium-capacity vehicle on the Chinese market. As China's commercial space sector expands and demand for satellite constellation deployment grows, the CZ-2C continues to find regular manifest slots, confirming its enduring relevance within both CASC's launch portfolio and the broader global launch services industry.