| Long March 2F | |
| Upright: | 1.2 |
| Function: | Crew-rated orbital launch vehicle |
| Manufacturer: | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) |
| Country-Origin: | China |
| Status: | Active |
| Height: | [1] |
| Stages: | 2 |
| Launches: | 23 |
| Success: | 23 |
| First: | 19 November 1999 |
| Last: | 25 April 2024 |
| Payloads: | Shenzhou Tiangong-1 Tiangong-2 Reusable experimental spacecraft |
| Capacities: | |
| Family: | Long March 2 |
| Stagedata: | |
The Long March 2F (Changzheng 2F), also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian (Chinese: 神箭, "Divine Arrow"),[1] is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a human-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle.[2] It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 2F made its maiden flight on 19 November 1999, with the Shenzhou 1 spacecraft. After the flight of Shenzhou 3, CPC General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin named the rocket "Shenjian", meaning "Divine Arrow".[3]
On 29 December 2002, a Long March 2F launched Shenzhou 4 for a final uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft for the upcoming flight of the first crewed mission. Until then, all missions were uncrewed.
On 15 October 2003, a Long March 2F launched Shenzhou 5, China's maiden crewed mission and achieved its first human spaceflight. Since then, the rocket has launched eighteen more missions into orbit with the latest being the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft.[4] [5] [6] [7]
Externally, the rocket is similar to the Long March 2E from which it was derived. Most of the changes involve the addition of redundant systems to improve safety, although there are some structural modifications that allow the rocket to support the heavier fairing required by the Shenzhou capsule. The rocket is also capable of lifting heavier payloads with the addition of extra boosters to the first stage.[8]
The rocket also has an "advanced fault monitoring and diagnosis system to help the astronauts escape in time of emergency" (in other words, a launch escape system), and is the first Chinese made rocket to be assembled and rolled out to its launch site vertically.[9]
A derivative called Long March 2F/G, first launched in 2011, was made to replace the existing 2F variant. For uncrewed launches, Long March 2F/T was designed, which launched space laboratories such as Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. It dispenses with the launch escape system and supports a larger fairing to accommodate the bulkier payloads.[10] For launching payloads like reusable experimental spacecraft, the Long March 2F/G's fairing has bumps added to enclose parts of the payload (such as wingtips) without using a larger fairing. [11] [12] [13]
During the Shenzhou 5 flight, Yang Liwei became unwell due to heavy vibrations from the rocket. Although the problem was reduced somewhat by modifications to the rocket, vibrations were reported again in Shenzhou 6 necessitating further changes. According to Jing Muchun, chief designer of the Long March 2F "We made changes to the pipelines of the rocket engine, adjusting its frequency. A new design for the pressure accumulator produced evident results. The vibration has now been reduced by more than 50%".[14] During the launch preparations for the Shenzhou 14 mission chief designer Gao Xu said incremental improvements made to the rocket's design mean vibrations felt by the taikonauts would be similar to that felt in a car driven on a highway.[15]
The predecessor Long March 2E had also been known for vibration. During two launches, excessive vibration caused the collapse of the payload fairing, destroying the Optus B2 and Apstar 2 satellites.[16] After the payload fairing was redesigned, excessive vibration also damaged the AsiaSat 2 satellite during launch. After its successful launch of the Echostar 1 satellite on 28 December 1995 the rocket was officially retired from service.[17]
See main article: List of Long March launches.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight number | Serial number | Date (UTC) | Version | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Crew | Result | Remarks |
| 1 | Y1 | 19 November 1999 22:30 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 1 | LEO | N/A | First uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft | |
| 2 | Y2 | 9 January 2001 17:00 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 2 | LEO | N/A | Second uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft, carried live animals. | |
| 3 | Y3 | 25 March 2002 14:15 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 3 | LEO | N/A | Third uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft. | |
| 4 | Y4 | 29 December 2002 16:40 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 4 | LEO | N/A | Final uncrewed test of the Shenzhou spacecraft prior to flying with crew. | |
| 5 | Y5 | 15 October 2003 01:00 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 5 | LEO |  Yang Liwei | China's first crewed spaceflight. | |
| 6 | Y6 | 12 October 2005 01:00 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 6 | LEO | Fei Junlong Nie Haisheng | Second crewed spaceflight, first with two astronauts. | |
| 7 | Y7 | 25 September 2008 13:10 | 2F | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 7 | LEO | First flight with three crew members, first to feature extravehicular activity. | ||
| 8 | T1 | 29 September 2011 13:16 | 2F/T | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Tiangong 1 | LEO | N/A | The first Chinese space station. Modified version Long March 2F/G with larger payload fairing. | |
| 9 | Y8 | 31 October 2011 21:58 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 8 | LEO | N/A | Uncrewed spaceflight to test automatic rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1 | |
| 10 | Y9 | 16 June 2012 10:37 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 9 | LEO | Jing Haipeng Liu Wang Liu Yang | Three crew members, to test rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1. | |
| 11 | Y10 | 11 June 2013 09:38 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 10 | LEO | Nie Haisheng Zhang Xiaoguang Wang Yaping | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1. | |
| 12 | T2 | 15 September 2016 14:04 | 2F/T | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Tiangong 2 | LEO | N/A | Second Chinese space laboratory Tiangong-2, launched by 2F/G variant. | |
| 13 | Y11 | 16 October 2016 23:30 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 11 | LEO | Jing Haipeng Chen Dong | Two crew members;[18] rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-2 for a 30-day mission. | |
| 14 | T3 | 4 September 2020 07:30 | 2F/T | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Reusable Experimental Spacecraft[19] | LEO | N/A | Test flight of a reusable experimental spacecraft.[20] | |
| 15 | Y12 | 17 June 2021 01:22 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 12 | LEO | Nie Haisheng Liu Boming Tang Hongbo | Three crew members; first visit to Tianhe, the first module of the Chinese Space Station, for a three-month mission. | |
| 16 | Y13 | 15 October 2021 16:23 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 13 | LEO | Zhai Zhigang Wang Yaping Ye Guangfu | Three crew members; visited Tianhe to continue construction of the space station for a six-month mission.[21] | |
| 17 | Y14 | 5 June 2022 02:44 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 14 | LEO | Chen Dong Liu Yang Cai Xuzhe | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.[22] | |
| 18 | T4 | 4 August 2022 16:00 | 2F/T | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Reusable Experimental Spacecraft | LEO | N/A | Second test flight of a reusable experimental spacecraft.[23] [24] | |
| 19 | Y15 | 29 November 2022 15:08 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 15 | LEO | Fei Junlong Deng Qingming Zhang Lu | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission.[25] | |
| 20 | Y16 | 30 May 2023 01:31 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 16 | LEO | Jing Haipeng Zhu Yangzhu Gui Haichao | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission. | |
| 21 | Y17 | 26 October 2023 03:13 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 17 | LEO | Tang Hongbo Tang Shengjie Jiang Xinlin | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission. | |
| 22 | T5 | 14 December 2023 14:12 | 2F/T | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Reusable Experimental Spacecraft | LEO | N/A | Third test flight of a reusable experimental spacecraft.[26] | |
| 23 | Y18 | 25 April 2024 12:59 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 18 | LEO | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission. | ||
| 24 | Y19 | 23 October 2024 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 19 | LEO | TBA TBA TBA | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission. | |
| 25 | Y20 | April 2025 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 20 | LEO | TBA TBA TBA | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission. | |
| 26 | Y21 | October 2025 | 2F/G | LA-4/SLS-1, JSLC | Shenzhou 21 | LEO | TBA TBA TBA | Three crew members; rendezvous and docking with the Chinese space station for a six-month mission. | |