The Long March 4A (), also known as the Changzheng 4A, CZ-4A and LM-4A, sometimes misidentified as the Long March 4 due to the lack of any such designated rocket, was a Chinese
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit 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 object or position in space such as ...
al
carrier rocket. It was launched from Launch Area 7 at the
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. It was a three-stage rocket, used for two launches in 1988 and 1990. On its maiden flight, on 6 September 1988, it placed the
FY-1A weather satellite
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ...
into orbit. On its second, and final, flight it launched another weather satellite,
FY-1B.
It was replaced by a derivative, the
Long March 4B, which first flew in 1999. The Long March 4B offers a more powerful third stage, and a larger payload fairing.
List of launches
References
Long March (rocket family)
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