Long March 2F

The Long March 2F rocket withShenzhou 13 spacecraft mounted on the top
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	62 m (203 ft)[1]
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)[1]
Mass	464,000 kg (1,023,000 lb)[1]
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload toLEO
Mass	8,400 kg (18,500 lb)[1]
Associated rockets
Family	Long March 2
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Total launches	27
Success(es)	27
First flight	19 November 1999
Last flight	25 November 2025(most recent)
Carries passengers or cargo	Shenzhou Tiangong-1 Tiangong-2 Reusable experimental spacecraft
Boosters
No. boosters	4
Height	15.3 m (50 ft)
Diameter	2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Empty mass	3,200 kg (7,100 lb)
Gross mass	41,000 kg (90,000 lb)
Powered by	1YF-20B per booster
Maximum thrust	814 kN (183,000 lbf)
Total thrust	3,256 kN (732,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	291 s (2.85 km/s)
Burn time	128 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 /UDMH
First stage
Height	23.7 m (78 ft)
Diameter	3.4 m (11 ft)
Empty mass	9,500 kg (20,900 lb)
Gross mass	196,500 kg (433,200 lb)
Powered by	4YF-20B
Maximum thrust	3,256 kN (732,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	291 s (2.85 km/s)
Burn time	166 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 /UDMH
Second stage
Height	13.5 m (44 ft)
Diameter	3.4 m (11 ft)
Empty mass	5,500 kg (12,100 lb)
Gross mass	91,500 kg (201,700 lb)
Powered by	1YF-24B
Maximum thrust	831 kN (187,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	289 s (2.83 km/s)
Burn time	300 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 /UDMH
[edit on Wikidata]

TheLong March 2F (Chinese:长征二号F火箭Changzheng 2F), also known as theCZ-2F,LM-2F andShenjian (神箭, "Divine Arrow"),^[1] is a Chineseorbitalcarrier rocket, part of theLong March 2 rocket family. Designed to launchcrewedShenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is ahuman-rated two-stage version of theLong March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on theLong March 2C launch vehicle.^[2] It is launched from complex SLS at theJiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 2F made its maiden flight on 19 November 1999, with theShenzhou 1 spacecraft. After the flight ofShenzhou 3, CPC General Secretary and PresidentJiang Zemin named the rocket "Shenjian", meaning "Divine Arrow".^[3]

On 29 December 2002, a Long March 2F launchedShenzhou 4 for a final uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft for the upcoming flight of the first crewed mission. Until then, all missions were uncrewed.

On 15 October 2003, a Long March 2F launchedShenzhou 5, China's maiden crewed mission and achieved its firsthuman spaceflight. Since then, the rocket has launched twenty more missions into orbit with the latest being theShenzhou 20 spacecraft.^[4][5][6][7]

Externally, the rocket is similar to the Long March 2E from which it was derived. Most of the changes involve the addition of redundant systems to improve safety, although there are some structural modifications that allow the rocket to support the heavier fairing required by the Shenzhou capsule. The rocket is also capable of lifting heavier payloads with the addition of extra boosters to the first stage.^[8]

The rocket also has an "advanced fault monitoring and diagnosis system to help the astronauts escape in time of emergency" (in other words, alaunch escape system), and is the first Chinese made rocket to be assembled and rolled out to its launch site vertically.^[9]

• 
  Long March 2 F/G version
• 
  Long March 2 F/T version

A derivative calledLong March 2F/G, first launched in 2011, was made to replace the existing 2F variant. For uncrewed launches,Long March 2F/T was designed, which launched space laboratories such asTiangong-1 andTiangong-2. It dispenses with the launch escape system and supports a larger fairing to accommodate the bulkier payloads.^[10] For launching payloads likereusable experimental spacecraft, the Long March 2F/G's fairing has bumps added to enclose parts of the payload (such as wingtips) without using a larger fairing.^[11][12][13]

During theShenzhou 5 flight,Yang Liwei became unwell due to heavy vibrations from the rocket. Although the problem was reduced somewhat by modifications to the rocket, vibrations were reported again inShenzhou 6 necessitating further changes. According toJing Muchun, chief designer of the Long March 2F "We made changes to the pipelines of the rocket engine, adjusting its frequency. A new design for the pressure accumulator produced evident results. The vibration has now been reduced by more than 50%".^[14] During the launch preparations for theShenzhou 14 mission chief designer Gao Xu said incremental improvements made to the rocket's design mean vibrations felt by the taikonauts would be similar to that felt in a car driven on a highway.^[15]

The predecessorLong March 2E had also been known for vibration. During two launches, excessive vibration caused the collapse of the payload fairing, destroying theOptus B2 andApstar 2 satellites.^[16] After the payload fairing was redesigned, excessive vibration also damaged theAsiaSat 2 satellite during launch. After its successful launch of theEchostar 1 satellite on 28 December 1995 the rocket was officially retired from service.^[17]

• 
  Long March 2F rocket schematics
• 
  The Long March 2F rocket with folded grid fins carrying Shenzhou 12 mission spacecraft, inscribed with "Divine Arrow" (神箭) in Chinese
• 
  Launch of Shenzhou 13
• 
  Shenzhou 15 before liftoff

Flight number	Serial number	Date (UTC)	Version	Launch site	Payload	Orbit	Crew	Result	Remarks
1	Y1	19 November 1999 22:30	2F	LA-4/SLS-1,JSLC	Shenzhou 1	LEO	N/A	Success	First uncrewed test of theShenzhou spacecraft
2	Y2	9 January 2001 17:00	2F	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 2	LEO	N/A	Success	Second uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft, carried live animals.
3	Y3	25 March 2002 14:15	2F	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 3	LEO	N/A	Success	Third uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft.
4	Y4	29 December 2002 16:40	2F	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 4	LEO	N/A	Success	Final uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft prior to flying with crew.
5	Y5	15 October 2003 01:00	2F	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 5	LEO	Yang Liwei	Success	China's first crewed spaceflight.
6	Y6	12 October 2005 01:00	2F	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 6	LEO	Fei Junlong Nie Haisheng	Success	Second crewed spaceflight, first with two astronauts.
7	Y7	25 September 2008 13:10	2F	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 7	LEO	Zhai Zhigang Liu Boming Jing Haipeng	Success	First flight with three crew members, first to featureextravehicular activity.
8	T1	29 September 2011 13:16	2F/T	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Tiangong 1	LEO	N/A	Success	The first Chinese space station. Modified version Long March 2F/G with larger payload fairing.[10]
9	Y8	31 October 2011 21:58	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 8	LEO	N/A	Success	Uncrewed spaceflight to test automaticrendezvous anddocking withTiangong-1
10	Y9	16 June 2012 10:37	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 9	LEO	Jing Haipeng Liu Wang Liu Yang	Success	Three crew members, to test rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.
11	Y10	11 June 2013 09:38	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 10	LEO	Nie Haisheng Zhang Xiaoguang Wang Yaping	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.
12	T2	15 September 2016 14:04	2F/T	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Tiangong 2	LEO	N/A	Success	Second Chinese space laboratoryTiangong-2, launched by 2F/G variant.
13	Y11	16 October 2016 23:30	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 11	LEO	Jing Haipeng Chen Dong	Success	Two crew members;[18] rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-2 for a 30-day mission.
14	T3	4 September 2020 07:30	2F/T	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Reusable Experimental Spacecraft[19]	LEO	N/A	Success	Test flight of a reusable experimental spacecraft.[19][20]
15	Y12	17 June 2021 01:22	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 12	LEO	Nie Haisheng Liu Boming Tang Hongbo	Success	Three crew members; first visit toTianhe, the first module of theChinese Space Station, for a three-month mission.
16	Y13	15 October 2021 16:23	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 13	LEO	Zhai Zhigang Wang Yaping Ye Guangfu	Success	Three crew members; visitedTianhe to continue construction of the space station for a six-month mission.[21]
17	Y14	5 June 2022 02:44	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 14	LEO	Chen Dong Liu Yang Cai Xuzhe	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.[22]
18	T4	4 August 2022 16:00	2F/T	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Reusable Experimental Spacecraft	LEO	N/A	Success	Second test flight of a reusable experimental spacecraft.[23][24]
19	Y15	29 November 2022 15:08	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 15	LEO	Fei Junlong Deng Qingming Zhang Lu	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.[25]
20	Y16	30 May 2023 01:31	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 16	LEO	Jing Haipeng Zhu Yangzhu Gui Haichao	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
21	Y17	26 October 2023 03:13	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 17	LEO	Tang Hongbo Tang Shengjie Jiang Xinlin	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
22	T5	14 December 2023 14:12	2F/T	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Reusable Experimental Spacecraft	LEO	N/A	Success	Third test flight of a reusable experimental spacecraft.[26]
23	Y18	25 April 2024 12:59	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 18	LEO	Ye Guangfu Li Cong Li Guangsu	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
24	Y19	29 October 2024 20:27	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 19	LEO	Cai Xuzhe Song Lingdong Wang Haoze	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
25	Y20	24 April 2025 09:17	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 20	LEO	Chen Dong Chen Zhongrui Wang Jie	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
26	Y21	31 October 2025 15:44	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 21	LEO	Zhang Lu Wu Fei Zhang Hongzhang	Success	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
27	Y22	25 November 2025 04:11	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 22	LEO	N/A	Success	Replacement Spacecraft for returnShenzhou 21 crew.
28	T6	2025	2F/T	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Reusable Experimental Spacecraft	LEO	N/A	Planned
29	Y23	April 2026	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 23	LEO	TBA TBA TBA	Planned	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
30	Y24	October 2026	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 24	LEO	TBA TBA TBA	Planned	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
31	Y25	April 2027	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 25	LEO	TBA TBA TBA	Planned	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.
32	Y26	October 2027	2F/G	LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC	Shenzhou 26	LEO	TBA TBA TBA	Planned	Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.

• List of Long March launches (2025-2029)

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