Editing Long March (rocket family) (section)

=== 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>