The Long March 2A, also known as the Chang Zheng 2A, CZ-2A and LM-2A, was a Chinese

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

carrier rocket A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistag ...

that launched FSW-0

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

s. It was later replaced by the more capable

Long March 4C The Long March 4C, also known as the Chang Zheng 4C, CZ-4C and LM-4C, previously designated Long March 4B-II, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. It is launched from the Jiuquan, Taiyuan, and Xichang Satellite Launch Centers, and consists of 3 ...

. It was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). It launched from Launch Area 2B at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China. It was a 2-stage rocket that flew four times. On its first flight on 5 November 1974, a cable connecting the pitch rate control gyroscope to the guidance system became disconnected, resulting in a loss of control and launch failure.

List of launches

References

Long March (rocket family) Vehicles introduced in 1974 {{china-stub