Feng Bao 1

FB-1

Mission Profile

Feng Bao 1 (FB-1) was a two-stage Chinese orbital launch vehicle developed in Shanghai by the 7th Ministry of Machine Building, operating in parallel with the Long March program as a competing national rocket. Standing 33 meters tall with a liftoff mass of 192,000 kg and generating 2,962 kN of thrust, it could deliver 3,000 kg to low Earth orbit. First flown in August 1972, Feng Bao 1 launched several Chinese military reconnaissance and communications satellites during the 1970s before being retired in favor of the Long March family. It represents an important but lesser-known chapter in Chinese space history, reflecting the decentralized competition between separate rocket development institutions in the early PRC space program.