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| Attribute | Long March 8 (incl. 8A) 🇨🇳 China Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified Active · Last updated 2026-07-26Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | PLD Space | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) / CASC | Northrop Grumman |
| Country | 🇪🇸 Spain | 🇨🇳 China | 🇺🇸 USA |
| Status | In Development | Active | Retired |
| Vehicle class | Small | Medium | Medium |
| Propellant | RP-1 / LOX | RP-1 / LOX (stage 1); LH2/LOX (stage 2) | RP-1 / LOX (RD-181 first stage) |
| Reusable | Yes | No | No |
| Stages | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| First flight | 2026 | 2020 | 2013 – 2023 |
| Payload to LEO | 1,080 kgas of [1]540 kg to SSO. First flight is a stated plan (targeted Q1 2026 as of this research; not yet confirmed flown) — treat as a target, not a fact. | 8,100 kgas of [1]5,000 kg to 700 km SSO (base); the enlarged-second-stage 8A variant (first flew 2025-02-11) lifts 7,000 kg to the same SSO reference orbit. ↑ Best | 8,000 kgas of [1]Antares 230+ configuration; primarily used for ~3,500–3,800 kg Cygnus cargo |
| Payload to GTO | — | — | — |
| Height | 35.7 mas of [1] | 50.3 mas of [1] ↑ Best | 41 mas of [1] |
| Liftoff mass | 69 tas of [1] | 356 t (base); 371 t (8A)as of [1] ↑ Best | 298 tas of [1] |
| Success rate | — | 100% (16/16 combined base + 8A)as of [1] ↑ Best | 91.7%as of [2]11/12 successes; Orb-3 (CRS-3) exploded at liftoff Oct 2014 |
| Total flights | — | 16 (base + 8A combined)as of [1] ↑ Best | 12as of [2]Final Antares flight was NG-19 (Aug 1, 2023). NG-20+ moved to Falcon 9 due to Antares RD-181 engine supply disruption (Russia sanctions). |
| Cost / kg LEO | — | — | — |
| Summary | PLD Space's orbital small launcher with a recoverable first stage (engine thrust + parachutes), developed with ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme support; primary launch site is the Guiana Space Centre. | A two-stage medium-lift launcher originally designed with a reusable combined-booster-recovery concept in mind, though currently operational vehicles fly expendable. Exclusively from Wenchang. | Primary launch vehicle for Cygnus ISS cargo missions from 2013–2023. Its Ukrainian-built Zenit-derived first stage and Russian RD-181 engines became untenable after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Northrop switched NG-20 onward to Falcon 9 while Antares 330 (with Firefly Miranda engines) is in development. |
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.