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The global launch market reached $14.1 billion in 2024 — up 34% since 2021.
| Attribute | Long March 6 (incl. 6A / 6C variants) 🇨🇳 China Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) / CASC | Roscosmos / Progress Rocket Space Centre | SAST (Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology) / CASC |
| Country | 🇨🇳 China | 🇷🇺 Russia | 🇨🇳 China |
| Status | Active | Active | Active |
| Vehicle class | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (stages 1–2); N2O4/UDMH (stage 3, base variant) |
| Reusable | No | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| First flight | 2024 | 2004 | 2015 |
| Payload to LEO | 12,000 kgas of [1]At 200 km altitude; 10,000 kg at 300 km. ↑ Best | 8,200 kgas of [1]Soyuz-2.1b with Fregat upper stage; 2.1a variant ~7,020 kg LEO | 1,080 kg to SSO (base Long March 6)as of [1]Long March 6A (4 solid boosters, elongated stage 1): at least 4,000 kg to SSO. Long March 6C: similar class without the boosters. Both variants first flew from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. |
| Payload to GTO | — | 3,250 kgas of [1]With Fregat-M upper stage ↑ Best | — |
| Height | 62 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 46.3 mas of [1] | 29 m (base variant)as of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 433 tas of [1] ↑ Best | 312 tas of [1] | 103 t (base variant)as of [1] |
| Success rate | 100% (6/6)as of [1] | 97%as of [2]~160/165 mission successes since 2004 per aggregated launch logs | 100% (base Long March 6, 15/15)as of [1]6A first flew 2022-03-29, 6C first flew 2024-05-07; both maintain perfect records within their own flight histories as of this date. ↑ Best |
| Total flights | 6as of [1]All six flights deployed Guowang (China SatNet) internet-constellation satellites, exclusively from Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site. | ~165as of [2] ↑ Best | 15 (base variant)as of [1] |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | A medium-lift, kerosene/LOX launcher built specifically to deploy China's Guowang mega-constellation at high cadence from Wenchang's new commercial pads. | Russia's primary medium-lift workhorse, descended from the Soyuz family that has flown since 1966. Carries both crewed Soyuz spacecraft and Cygnus-class cargo. Fregat upper stage significantly expands mission flexibility. Production continues at Samara (now TsSKB-Progress). | A family of medium-lift launchers from SAST serving China's growing SSO/LEO commercial and government satellite demand, with the 6A and 6C variants adding solid boosters or a simplified expendable configuration respectively. |
48 launch vehicles across 10 countries — active, retired, and in development — with primary-source citations from manufacturer user guides and agency press kits. Pure URL state: bookmark or share the link and the comparison reproduces exactly.