Long March 9

**Long March 9**
Chinese: 长征九号
Function	Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
Country of origin	People's Republic of China
Size
Height	103 m (338 ft)
Diameter	9.5 m (31 ft)
Mass	3,997,000 kg (8,812,000 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	140,000 to 150,000 kg (310,000 to 330,000 lb)
Payload to TLI
Mass	53,000 kg (117,000 lb)
Payload to MTO
Mass	44,000 kg (97,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Long March (rocket family)
Comparable	SpaceX Super Heavy; Space Launch System; Falcon Heavy; Ares V; Energia; N1 (rocket); Saturn V;
Launch history
Status	In development
Boosters
No. boosters	4
Engines	2 YF-130
Thrust	4800KN
Specific impulse	306
Burn time	N/A
Propellant	LOX/RP-1
First stage
Engines	4 YF-130
Thrust	4800KN
Specific impulse	306
Burn time	N/A
Propellant	LOX/RP-1
Second stage
Engines	2 YF-90
Thrust	2200KN
Specific impulse	453
Burn time	N/A
Propellant	LH2/LOX
Third stage
Engines	4 YF-79
Thrust	243KN
Specific impulse	460
Burn time	N/A
Propellant	LH2/LOX

Long March 9 (Chinese: 长征九号火箭, LM-9 or Changzheng 9, CZ-9) is a Chinese super-heavy carrier rocket concept that is currently under development.^[3]^[4] It is the ninth iteration of the Long March rocket family, named for the Chinese Red Army's 1934–35 Long March campaign/retreat during the Chinese Civil War.

Current plans call for the Long March 9 to have a maximum payload capacity of 140,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO),^[5] 53,000 kg to trans-lunar injection, and 44,000 kg to Mars.^[6]^[3] Its first flight is expected to occur in 2030 in advance of possible Chinese crewed lunar missions sometime in the 2030s time-frame;^[4] a Martian sample return mission also has been proposed as a possible payload for this rocket.^[3]

As of 2016, the CZ-9 is designed as a three-staged rocket, with a first-stage core diameter of 10 meters and using a cluster of four engines. Multiple variants of the rocket have been proposed, with CZ-9 being the largest: this 'base variant' has four additional liquid-fuel boosters strapped onto the core stage (each individual booster would be up to 5 meters in diameter) and it is this variant that has the aforementioned LEO payload capacity of 140,000 kg. In addition to the base variant, there is the CZ-9A variant which has only two additional boosters and a LEO payload capacity of 100,000 kg. Finally, there is the CZ-9B having only the bare 10-meter diameter core stage and a LEO payload capacity of 50,000 kg.^[7] The expected payload capacities of the Long March 9 place it in the class of super heavy-lift launch vehicle; the rocket's development program was formally approved by the Chinese government in 2021.^[4]

On 24 June 2021, Long Lehao, chief designer of the Long March series, provided some updates regarding the Long March 9 at the University of Hong Kong in a presentation titled "Long March Rocket and China's Aerospace". The original design, called the 11th version (2011), had been supplanted by a new design, called the 21st version, which featured many changes including an enlarged diameter of 10.6 meters, a length of 108 meters, and a weight of 4,122 tons. 16 YF-135 liquid oxygen kerosene engines, each with over 300 tons of thrust, will be used in the first stage; 120 ton hydrogen-oxygen engines will be used in the second and third stages, with four in the second stage and one in the third stage. All fuel tanks were changed to a common bulkhead design, and all external boosters had been removed. The payload capacity to low Earth orbit was increased from 140 to 150 tons, and the payload to trans-lunar injection was increased to 53 tons. Long noted that this new version was still under review as of the time of presentation.^[8]^[9]

References[]

^ 男神是婑方方 (2020). "中国长征九号项目：不仅仅是一款超重型火箭". 互联网.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b 秦旭东、龙乐豪、容易 (2016). "《我国航天运输系统成就与展望》". 深空探测学报 (in Chinese). 2016年第3卷第4期.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Jones, Andrew (5 July 2018). "China reveals details for super-heavy-lift Long March 9 and reusable Long March 8 rockets". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Berger, Eric (24 February 2021). "China officially plans to move ahead with super-heavy Long March 9 rocket". Ars Technica. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
^ "First Look: China's Big New Rockets". AmericaSpace. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
^ "梁小虹委员：我国重型运载火箭正着手立项与美俄同步". scitech.people.com.cn. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
^ "China Aims for Humanity's Return to the Moon in the 2030s". popsci.com. 2016-05-05. Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
^ Jones, Andrew (28 June 2021). "China's super heavy rocket to construct space-based solar power station". SpaceNews. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^ "[线上同步直播] 驰骋大航天时代 - 与国家航天工程科学家现场交流 | Mainland Affairs Office (MAO), HKU". mainlandaffairs.hku.hk. Retrieved 2021-06-25.

External links[]

[中国长征九号项目：不仅仅是一款超重型火箭-1] 男神是婑方方 (2020). "中国长征九号项目：不仅仅是一款超重型火箭". 互联网.

[我国航天运输系统成就与展望-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b 秦旭东、龙乐豪、容易 (2016). "《我国航天运输系统成就与展望》". 深空探测学报 (in Chinese). 2016年第3卷第4期.

[AJ05072018-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Jones, Andrew (5 July 2018). "China reveals details for super-heavy-lift Long March 9 and reusable Long March 8 rockets". SpaceNews. Retrieved 1 March 2021.

[ars-20210224-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Berger, Eric (24 February 2021). "China officially plans to move ahead with super-heavy Long March 9 rocket". Ars Technica. Retrieved 1 March 2021.

[5] "First Look: China's Big New Rockets". AmericaSpace. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2013.

[6] "梁小虹委员：我国重型运载火箭正着手立项与美俄同步". scitech.people.com.cn. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013.

[:0-7] "China Aims for Humanity's Return to the Moon in the 2030s". popsci.com. 2016-05-05. Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2018-07-14.

[8] Jones, Andrew (28 June 2021). "China's super heavy rocket to construct space-based solar power station". SpaceNews. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

[9] "[线上同步直播] 驰骋大航天时代 - 与国家航天工程科学家现场交流 | Mainland Affairs Office (MAO), HKU". mainlandaffairs.hku.hk. Retrieved 2021-06-25.

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show v t Long March (rocket family)
Rockets	Feng Bao 1 Long March 1 1D Long March 2 2A 2C 2D 2E 2F Long March 3 3A 3B 3B/E 3C Long March 4 4A 4B 4C Long March 5 5B Long March 6 Long March 7 7A Long March 8 921 rocket Long March 9 Long March 11
Launch sites	Jiuquan Taiyuan Wenchang Xichang
Manufacturers	China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology
Designers	Wang Xiji
List of Long March launches

show v t Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara A5 Antares 230+ Ariane 5 Atlas V Ceres-1 Delta IV Heavy Electron Epsilon Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy GSLV Mk II Mk III H-IIA Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11^† Kaituozhe 2 LauncherOne Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 7 7A 8 11 Minotaur I IV V C OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qased Rocket 3^† Safir Shavit Simorgh^† Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v Unha Vega Zenit 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque-1^†
In development	Agnibaan Amur Angara 1.2 Antariksh - 1 Ariane 6 Bloostar Chetak Cyclone-4M Eris Firefly Alpha Beta H3 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 921 rocket 9 Miura 5 Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 Nuri OS-M2 OS-M4 Orbex Prime Phoenix SLV-1T SLV-VT SLS Soyuz-7 SSLV Starship Terran 1 Terran R Vega C Vega E Vikram - I Vikram - II Vikram - III Vulcan Zero Zhuque-2
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 Ariane 1 2 3 4 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV Diamant Dnepr Energia Europa^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos 1 2I 3 3M Lambda 4S Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Saturn I IB V Scout SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates historical or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but did not ever succeed (never did or has performed a successful orbital launch)

Long March 9

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