Mission
Long March 6A launched Yaogan 40 Group 04 from Launch Complex 9A (LC-9A) at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China.
Before the flight
3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites of unknown purposes, officially reported as for “Electromagnetic environment probing”.
- Launched
- 16:46 UTC+8 at the pad
- Rocket
- Long March 6ACASC
- Destination
- Polar Orbit
- Launch site
- Launch Complex 9A, Taiyuan, China9th launch from this pad in 202630 days after the last
47th
CASC launch of 2026
Long March 6A
CASC27 launches since March 2022, 27 successful
50m
Height
3.4m
Diameter
530t
Mass at liftoff
7.2MN
Thrust at liftoff
About Long March 6A
The Long March 6A is a Chinese launch vehicle of the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The vehicle is a further development of the Long March 6, with 2 YF-100 engines on the first stage as opposed to 1 on the Long March 6, augmented by 4 solid rocket boosters. The Long March 6A is China’s first rocket with solid rocket boosters. The maiden launch of the Long March 6A took place 29 March 2022, successfully reaching orbit. It was also the first launch from the newly built launch complex 9A in Taiyuan.
Orbit estimated from CelesTrak’s elementsMeasured trackSpaceX’s predicted path
In orbit now
The crewed stations and Hubble, once around the Earth every 92 to 94 minutes
| Spacecraft | Altitude | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| ISSDocked: Soyuz MS-29, Crew-13In Earth’s shadow | 430km | 27,562km/h |
| TiangongDocked: Shenzhou-23In sunlight | 385km | 27,651km/h |
| Shenzhou-23In sunlight | 385km | 27,651km/h |
| Soyuz MS-29In Earth’s shadow | 430km | 27,562km/h |
| Crew-13In Earth’s shadow | 430km | 27,562km/h |
| HubbleIn sunlight | 476km | 27,461km/h |
Estimated for from CelesTrak’s orbital elements, up to 33 h old.
