Long March 4B (LM-4B)

Video from the channel Dmitry Shulgin about Long March 4B, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 3:29. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

It is a narrated presentation of the Long March 4B, also called Chang Zheng 4B. It is a three-stage launcher using room-temperature liquid propellant, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology based on the Long March 4A.

It launches from Launch Area 7 at Taiyuan and mainly carries Earth observation satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. Compared to the 4A, it has a larger payload fairing, lighter electronics, and an altitude-compensating nozzle on the second stage. Its development began in February 1989, it received its name in September 1993, and it flew for the first time on May 10, 1999, carrying the FY-1C weather satellite.

Its only failure was the launch of CBERS-3 on December 9, 2013. On August 4, 2022, it placed the TECIS satellite into orbit, with which the Long March family reached 100 consecutive successful launches.