Long March 2E

CZ-2E

Mission Profile

The Long March 2E (CZ-2E) was a two-stage Chinese launch vehicle in the Long March 2,3,4 family, a heavy-lift variant using four liquid strap-on boosters to significantly increase payload capacity. Standing 49.7 m tall with a 3.4 m core diameter and a liftoff mass of 461 tonnes, it generated 5,923 kN of liftoff thrust and could deliver 9,500 kg to low Earth orbit or 3,500 kg to geostationary transfer orbit. First flying in July 1990, the Long March 2E launched commercial satellites including Optus and AsiaSat, though a pair of launch failures in the early 1990s led to its replacement by the Long March 3B.