China Long March 3

The Long March 3, also known as the Changzheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket design. They were all launched from Launch Area 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It was a 3-stage rocket, and was mostly used to place DFH-2-class communications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits. It was complemented and later replaced by the more powerful Long March 3A, which has an improved third stage.

LM-3 was a three-stage launch vehicle. Its first and second stages were developed on the basis of LM-2C, and its third stage was powered by cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine. LM-3 was 44.86-meter long and had a launch mass of 204.88 tons. Its launch capability for GTO mission was 1.6 tons. The successful launch of LM-3 indicated that China had become one of the world leading players in the field of advanced launch technology and reached a major milestone in the history of launch vehicles development in China:LM-3 first used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as propellants, first achieved the ability of multiple ignitions capability, and first put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit.The LM-3 has been placed out of commission.

By[Infinity Industry]