| CTS | |
| Manufacturer: | CALT |
| Country: | China |
| Rockets: | Long March 2C third stage |
| Height: | 0.9m (03feet) |
| Diameter: | 0.54m (01.77feet) |
| Mass: | 160kg (350lb) |
| Propmass: | 121.7kg (268.3lb) |
| Derived From: | SD |
| Derivatives: | SMA |
| Launches: | SD: 7 CTS: 2 SMA: 2 |
| Success: | SD: 7 CTS: 2 SMA: 2 |
| Fail: | 0 |
| Noburn: | 0 |
| First: | SD: 1997-09-01 CTS: 2003-12-29 SMA: 2008-09-06 |
| Last: | SD: 1999-06-12 CTS: 2004-07-26 SMA: 2012-10-14 |
The CTS is an upper stage developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) to improve the performance of the Long March 2C to high (>400 km of altitude) LEO missions like SSO. The two stage LM-2 delivers the payload and stage to an elliptical orbit with the desired apogee and the CTS points the stack in the direction of the correct vector and activates the solid rocket motor (SRM) main engine to circularize it. It then dispenses the spacecraft and does a passivisation procedure.
It was initially developed as the SD stage for the initial deployment of the initial deployment of the Iridium constellation in 1997. In 1999, LM-2C User Manual was offered as the CTS option and flew to deploy the Double Star mission. Later, it flew twice as part of the dual deployment system SMA, first for the deployment of the Huanjing 1A and 1B and in 2012 for the Shijian 9A and Shijian 9A technology demonstrator missions.
| Date | Carrier rocket | Designation | Launch site | Mission | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-09-01 | SD | Iridium-MFS 1 / Iridium-MFS 2 | ||||
| 1997-12-08 | SD | Iridium 42 / Iridium 44 | ||||
| 1998-03-25 | SD | Iridium 51 / Iridium 61 | ||||
| 1998-05-02 | SD | Iridium 69 / Iridium 71 | ||||
| 1998-08-19 | SD | Iridium 76 / Iridium 78 | ||||
| 1998-12-19 | SD | Iridium 88 / Iridium 89 | ||||
| 1999-06-10 | SD | Iridium 92 / Iridium 93 | ||||
| 2003-12-29 | CTS | Double Star Equatorial (TC 1) | ||||
| 2004-07-26 | CTS | Double Star Polar (TC 2) | ||||
| 2008-09-06 | SMA | |||||
| 2012-10-14 | SMA |
It is composed of the Spacecraft Adapter and Orbital Maneuver System (OMS). The Spacecraft Adapter is customized to the user's requirement, particularly in the separation environment and pointing accuracy. The OMS is composed by:
The basic system has been offered in three different versions: