Long March 3B/E
OperationalCALT / CASC · China · First flight 1996
China's primary GTO launch vehicle, used extensively for BeiDou navigation satellite deployment. Features four strap-on liquid boosters and a cryogenic third stage.
Launch price
Not published
Payload to LEO
11,500 kg
5,500 kg to GTO
Career record
95.7%
112/117 successful · as of 2026-10-09
Next launch
None scheduled
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More launch calendarsLaunch activity, live
From SpaceNexus's launch tracker (tracked since Dec 3, 2024); outcomes recorded as each flight lands. Career totals above are the vehicle's full history.
Last 90 days
1
launches flown
Tracked flights
18
17 success · 0 partial · 1 failed
Tracked success rate
94.4%
full successes / attempts; partial failures are not successes
On the manifest
0
upcoming launches
Recent
Jul 23, 2026, 12:00 UTC
Tianlian 2-06
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation · Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Jun 16, 2026, 09:45 UTC
Shijian 31
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation · Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Specifications
| Height | 56.33 m |
| Diameter | 3.35 m |
| Liftoff mass | 458,970 kg |
| Stages | 3 |
| Engines | 4x YF-21C + 4x YF-25 (boosters) + 1x YF-24E + 2x YF-75 |
| Propellant | UDMH/N2O4 + LH2/LOX (3rd stage) |
| Fairing diameter | 4.2 m |
| Payload to LEO | 11,500 kg |
| Payload to GTO | 5,500 kg |
| Reusable | No |
| First flight | 1996-02-14 |
| Last flight | Active |
| Variants seen on the manifest | Long March 3B/E |
Where it launches from
Frequently asked
How much does a Long March 3B/E launch cost?
CALT / CASC has not published a list price for Long March 3B/E.
When is the next Long March 3B/E launch?
No Long March 3B/E launch is currently on the tracked manifest.
How reliable is Long March 3B/E?
Long March 3B/E has flown 117 times as of 2026-10-09, with 112 successes, 5 failures and 0 partial failures: a 95.7% success rate, with 2 consecutive successes at last count.
How much can Long March 3B/E carry?
11,500 kg to low Earth orbit, 5,500 kg to geostationary transfer orbit.