Editing Long March (rocket family) (section)

== History ==
{{Main list|List of Long March launches}}
China used the [[Long March 1]] rocket to launch its first [[satellite]], [[Dong Fang Hong I|Dong Fang Hong 1]] (lit. "The East is Red 1"), into [[low Earth orbit]] on 24 April 1970, becoming the fifth nation to achieve independent launch capability. Early launches had an inconsistent record, focusing on the launching of Chinese satellites. The [[Long March 1]] was quickly replaced by the [[Long March 2]] family of launchers.
<gallery>
File:Changzheng-1 Rocket Model in Victoria Park, Hong Kong.jpg|Long March 1
File:Changzheng-1 Rocket Model in Victoria Park, Hong Kong (2).jpg|Long March 1 engine
</gallery>

=== Entry into commercial launch market ===
[[File:Chang_zheng_3a_launch.png|thumb|200px|upright=1.2|right|[[Long March 3A]] launch]]
After the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|U.S. Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' was destroyed]] in 1986, a growing commercial backlog gave China the chance to enter the international launch market. In September 1988, [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] agreed to allow U.S. satellites to be launched on Chinese rockets.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stevenson|first1=Richard W.|title=Shaky Start for Rocket Business|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/16/business/shaky-start-for-rocket-business.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 16, 1988|access-date=January 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201055613/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/16/business/shaky-start-for-rocket-business.html|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Reagan's satellite export policy would continue to 1998, through Bush and Clinton administrations, with 20 or more approvals.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Clinton Defends China Satellite Waiver – May 22, 1998|url=https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/05/22/china.money/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.cnn.com}}</ref> [[AsiaSat|AsiaSat 1]], which had originally been launched by the Space Shuttle and retrieved by another Space Shuttle after a failure, was launched by a [[Long March 3]] in 1990 as the first foreign payload on a Chinese rocket.

However, major setbacks occurred in 1992–1996. The [[Long March 2E]] was designed with a defective payload fairing, which collapsed when faced with the rocket's excessive vibration. After just seven launches, the Long March 2E destroyed the [[Optus (satellite)#Optus B2|Optus B2]] and [[Apstar 2]] satellites and damaged [[AsiaSat 2]].<ref name="zinger2014">{{cite report|last1=Zinger|first1=Kurtis J.|title=An Overreaction that Destroyed an Industry: The Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Satellite Export Controls|year=2014|url=http://lawreview.colorado.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/13.-86.1-Zinger_Final.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042907/http://lawreview.colorado.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/13.-86.1-Zinger_Final.pdf|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="globalsecurity">{{cite web|title=CZ-2E Space Launch Vehicle|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/cz-2e.htm|website=globalsecurity.org|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080935/https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/cz-2e.htm|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Long March 3B]] also experienced a catastrophic failure in 1996, veering off course shortly after liftoff and crashing into a nearby village. At least 6 people were killed on the ground, and the [[Intelsat 708]] satellite was also destroyed.<ref name="ChenLan1">{{cite web|last1=Lan|first1=Chen|title=Mist around the CZ-3B disaster, part 1|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2323/1|publisher=The Space Review|access-date=18 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035826/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2323/1|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[Long March 3]] also experienced a partial failure in August 1996 during the launch of [[Chinasat|Chinasat-7]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1996-048A|access-date=2021-12-15|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref> Six Long March rockets ([[Long March 2C|Chang Zheng 2C/SD]]) launched 12 [[Iridium satellite constellation|Iridium satellites]], about a sixth of Iridium satellites in the original fleet.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Graham|first=William|date=2018-03-30|title=Iridium NEXT-5 satellites ride to orbit on SpaceX Falcon 9|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/iridium-next-5-satellites-spacex-falcon-9/|access-date=2021-12-15|website=NASASpaceFlight.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== United States embargo on Chinese launches ===
{{see also|International Traffic in Arms Regulations#Satellite components}}

The involvement of United States companies in the [[Apstar 2]] and [[Intelsat 708]] investigations caused great controversy in the United States. In the [[Cox Report]], the [[United States Congress]] accused [[SSL (company)|Space Systems/Loral]] and [[Hughes Aircraft Company]] of transferring information that would improve the design of Chinese rockets and ballistic missiles.<ref name="zenio2006">{{cite news |last1=Zelnio|first1=Ryan|title=A short history of export control policy|url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/528/1|publisher=The Space Review|date=January 9, 2006|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211160307/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/528/1|archive-date=December 11, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the Long March was allowed to launch its commercial backlog, the [[United States Department of State]] has not approved any satellite export licenses to China since 1998. [[Chinasat|ChinaSat 8]], which had been scheduled for launch in April 1999 on a [[Long March 3B]] rocket,<ref>{{cite report|author1=Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration|title=Commercial Space Transportation Quarterly Launch Report |year=1999|url=https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/quarter9902.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504212503/https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/quarter9902.pdf|archive-date=May 4, 2017|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> was placed in storage, sold to the Singapore company [[ProtoStar]], and finally launched on a European rocket [[Ariane 5]] in 2008.<ref name="zenio2006"/>

From 2005 to 2012, Long March rockets launched ITAR-free satellites made by the European company [[Thales Alenia Space]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harvey|first1=Brian|title=China in Space: The Great Leap Forward |url=https://archive.org/details/chinaspacegreatl00harv|url-access=limited|year=2013|publisher=Springer|location=New York|isbn=9781461450436|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chinaspacegreatl00harv/page/n172 160]–162}}</ref> However, Thales Alenia was forced to discontinue its ITAR-free satellite line in 2013 after the United States State Department fined a United States company for selling ITAR components.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ferster|first1=Warren|title=U.S. Satellite Component Maker Fined US$8 Million for ITAR Violations|url=http://spacenews.com/37071us-satellite-component-maker-fined-8-million-for-itar-violations/|publisher=SpaceNews|date=5 September 2013}}</ref> [[Thales Alenia Space]] had long complained that "every satellite nut and bolt" was being ITAR-restricted, and the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) accused the United States of using ITAR to block exports to China instead of protecting technology.<ref>{{cite news|last1=de Selding|first1=Peter B.|title=Thales Alenia Space: U.S. Suppliers at Fault in "ITAR-free" Misnomer|url=http://spacenews.com/36706thales-alenia-space-us-suppliers-at-fault-in-itar-free-misnomer/|publisher=SpaceNews|date=9 August 2013}}</ref> In 2016, an official at the [[Bureau of Industry and Security|United States Bureau of Industry and Security]] confirmed that "no U.S.-origin content, regardless of significance, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a foreign-made item, can go to China". The European aerospace industry is working on developing replacements for United States satellite components.<ref name="selding2016">{{cite news|last1=de Selding|first1=Peter B.|title=U.S. ITAR satellite export regime's effects still strong in Europe|url=http://spacenews.com/u-s-itar-satellite-export-regimes-effects-still-strong-in-europe/|publisher=SpaceNews|date=April 14, 2016}}</ref>

=== Return to success ===
[[File:Launch of Shenzhou 13.jpg|thumb|160px|alt=Long March 2F is the only human-rated launch vehicle of the Long March family.|[[Long March 2F]] is the only human-rated launch vehicle of the Long March family.]]
After the failures of 1992–1996, the troublesome Long March 2E was withdrawn from the market. Design changes were made to improve the reliability of Long March rockets. From October 1996 to April 2009, the Long March rocket family delivered 75 consecutive successful launches, including several major milestones in space flight:
* On 15 October 2003, the [[Long March 2F]] rocket successfully launched the ''[[Shenzhou 5]]'' spacecraft, carrying China's first astronaut into space. China became the third nation with independent [[human spaceflight]] capability, after the [[Soviet Union]]/Russia and the United States. 
* On 1 June 2007, Long March rockets completed their 100th launch overall. 
* On 24 October 2007, the [[Long March 3A]] successfully launched (10:05 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]) the "[[Chang'e 1]]" [[Moon|lunar]] orbiting [[spacecraft]] from the [[Xichang Satellite Launch Center]].

The Long March rockets have subsequently maintained an excellent reliability record. Since 2010, Long March launches have made up 15–25% of all space launches globally. Growing domestic demand has maintained a healthy manifest. International deals have been secured through a package deal that [[Product bundling|bundles]] the launch with a Chinese satellite, circumventing the United States embargo.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Henry|first1=Caleb|title=Back-to-back commercial satellite wins leave China Great Wall hungry for more|url=http://spacenews.com/back-to-back-commercial-satellite-wins-leave-china-great-wall-hungry-for-more/|publisher=SpaceNews|date=August 22, 2017}}</ref>