Long March 6

Rendering of the Long March 6 launch vehicle
Function	Small-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology[1]
Country of origin	China
Size
Height	29 m (95 ft)
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Mass	103,000 kg (227,000 lb)
Stages	3[2]
Capacity
Payload to 700 km (430 mi)SSO
Mass	1,080 kg (2,380 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Long March
Comparable	Minotaur-C, PSLV-CA
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Taiyuan,LA-16
Total launches	14
Success(es)	14
First flight	19 September 2015[3]
Last flight	3 April 2025(most recent)
First stage
Diameter	3.35 m (11.0 ft)
Propellant mass	61,000 kg (134,000 lb) to 76,000 kg (168,000 lb)
Powered by	1YF-100
Maximum thrust	1,188 kN (267,000 lbf)[4]
Specific impulse	300 seconds (sea level) 335 seconds (vacuum)[5]
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Second stage
Diameter	2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Propellant mass	15,000 kg (33,000 lb)
Powered by	1YF-115
Maximum thrust	180 kN (40,000 lbf)[4]
Specific impulse	341.5 seconds (vacuum)[6]
Propellant	RP-1/LOX
Third stage
Diameter	2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Powered by	1
Maximum thrust	6.5 kN (1,500 lbf)[4]
Specific impulse	306.9 seconds
Propellant	N2O4 /UDMH[4]
[edit on Wikidata]

TheLong March 6 (Chinese:长征六号运载火箭) orChang Zheng 6 as inpinyin, abbreviatedLM 6 for export orCZ 6 within China, is a Chineseliquid-fuelledlaunch vehicle of theLong March family, which was developed by theChina Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)^[7] and theShanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The rocket was developed in the 2000s, and made its maiden flight in 2015.^[8] As one of the new generation rocket family, the Long March 6 was designed to be a light capacity, "high-speed response" rocket, complementing the heavy liftLong March 5 and the mid-heavy liftLong March 7 rocket families. It is capable of placing at least 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of payload into aSun-synchronous orbit.^[9][8] The first stage of the Long March 6 was derived from thebooster rockets being developed for theLong March 5 rocket. It is powered by aYF-100 engine, which generates 1,340 kN (300,000 lb_f) of thrust from burningkerosene andLOX asrocket fuel andoxidiser.^[8] This was the first flight of the new engine design.^[3]

An enlarged variant, theLong March 6A, which has four strap-on solid boosters, an elongated stage one, a new stage two with the same diameter as the first stage, and a payload capacity of at least 4000 kg toSun-synchronous orbit, made its maiden flight on 29 March 2022.^[10]

A further iteration named theLong March 6C with a slightly shorter length than the 6A and without the four strap-on solid boosters had its successful maiden launch on 7 May 2024.^[11]

Long March 6 only; not including 6A or 6C variants.

Long March 6 only; not including 6A or 6C variants.

Lists of launches for the relatedLong March 6A andLong March 6C can be found in their respective Wikipedia pages.

• List of Long March launches (2025-2029)
• Comparison of orbital launchers families
• Comparison of orbital launch systems

• Long March (rocket family)
• Spacecraft launched in 2015
• 2015 in spaceflight
• 2015 in China
• Vehicles introduced in 2015

• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from October 2020
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from October 2020
• Articles containing Chinese-language text