The Family Lineup
Launch Cadence
Reliability
96.0% over the last 50 — 2 anomalies in the current run. Every outcome comes from our launch log, where each launch links its payloads, pad and vehicle.
Every Variant, Every Record
| Variant | First flight | Flights | LEO payload | Status | Flight record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM-2C | 1982 | 91 | 3.9 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-2D | 1992 | 105 | 3.5 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-2F | 1999 | 29 | 8.4 t | CREW-RATED | Family record → |
| LM-3 / 3A / 3B / 3C | 1984 | 177 | 11.5 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-4 / 4B / 4C | 1988 | 118 | 4.2 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-5 / 5B | 2016 | 18 | 25 t | HEAVY LIFT | 5B deep-dive → |
| LM-6 / 6A / 6C | 2015 | 43 | 4.5 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-7 / 7A | 2016 | 29 | 14 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-8 / 8A | 2020 | 17 | 8.1 t | ACTIVE | Family record → |
| LM-11 | 2015 | 18 | 0.7 t | SEA-CAPABLE | Family record → |
| LM-12 | 2024 | 7 | 12 t | NEWEST | Family record → |
| LM-1 → early variants | 1970 | 14 | — | RETIRED | Historic record → |
Curated specifications; flight counts are live from the launch database. The complete family record — every launch, filterable — is at Long March in the launch database.
The Mega-Constellation Workhorses
Latest Flights
Generated automatically, newest first — every row links its launch page in the launch database: payloads, pad, trajectory and outcome.
Milestones
The State of the Dynasty
Every arm of China's space programme rides on Long March: 666 launches since 1970, flown by CASC from four inland and coastal spaceports plus sea platforms. The family now sustains more than one launch a week this year — while remaining fully expendable: every flight is a new rocket off the production line, the central constraint in the race against Starlink's reusable boosters.
The fleet splits into clear roles: crew-rated LM-2F for Shenzhou, heavy-lift LM-5/5B for station modules and deep-space missions, the veteran 2C/2D/3B/4C workhorses for Earth observation and BeiDou, and the new 6A/8/8A/12 generation purpose-built for mega-constellation batch deployment. Reusable successors (LM-10 and the LM-9 super-heavy) are in development for the crewed lunar programme.
Every claim here is measured, not quoted: totals, cadence, reliability and variant records are computed from the Orbital Radar launch log of every orbital attempt since 1957, and refresh automatically after each launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Orbital Radar's launch database records 666 Long March orbital launches since the first in April 1970 — including 42 so far in 2026. The figure on this page updates automatically after every launch.
97.3% across all 666 launches since 1970 — and 96.0% over the last 50. The modern workhorses (LM-2C, 2D, 3B, 4C) rank among the most reliable rockets flying. Every outcome is recorded launch-by-launch in our launch log.
CZ is the pinyin abbreviation of Chang Zheng (长征), "Long March". International catalogues use CZ-2D, CZ-5B and so on — the same rockets this page lists as LM-2D and LM-5B.
Only the crew-rated LM-2F, which has flown every Shenzhou mission since 2003 without losing a crew — 29 launches. Its successor for the crewed lunar programme, LM-10, is in development. Follow the crew aboard Tiangong on the live tracker.
Not yet — every current variant is expendable, which is the family's biggest constraint in the deployment race against Starlink. Reusable designs (LM-10A, and commercial Chinese rockets like Zhuque-3) are in flight testing.
The LM-5/5B — about 57 m tall with ~25 tonnes to LEO. It launched the Tiangong modules, the Chang'e sample-return missions and the Tianwen-1 Mars mission. The LM-9 super-heavy (~140 t to LEO) is planned for the 2030s.