Editing Long March (rocket family) (section)

=== 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>