Long March 3B
China1996 to 2026The Long March 3B stands 56.3 m (185 ft) tall and can lift 12,000 kg to low Earth orbit. As of 23 October 2026, the Long March 3B, in all its versions, has 117 launches on record, from 14 February 1996 to 23 July 2026, and 112 of them succeeded (96%).
Latest mission
Communications
Long March 3B/E
Jul 23, 2026
A Long March 3B/E lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center carrying Tianlian-2-06, a new data-relay satellite that expands communications coverage for China's Tiangong space station and its visiting Shenzhou and Tianzhou vehicles. The rocket was struck by lightning roughly 30 seconds after liftoff but still delivered the satellite to geostationary transfer orbit.
Next mission
Drawing unavailable
No upcoming mission scheduled.
Statistics summary
Long March 3B launches
2026 so far
3
vs 9 by this date in 2025
Last 7 days
0
vs 0.1 weekly avg. over 365 days
Payload to orbit
2026 so far
9 t
vs 41 t by this date in 2025
Last 7 days
0 t
vs 0.6 t weekly avg. over 365 days
Past launches
Every Long March 3B launch scheduled for the next seven days, in UTC.
No Long March 3B launch is scheduled in the next seven days.
- Launches
- 117
- Success rate
- 96%
- 3 failures · 2 partial
- First flight
- 1996
- Long March 3B
- Last flight
- 2026
- Long March 3B/E
- Rocket types
- 3
Launches per year
Show as table
| Year | Launches |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 |
| 1997 | 2 |
| 1998 | 2 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2012 | 5 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2015 | 8 |
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 11 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 8 |
| 2025 | 13 |
| 2026 | 3 |
Long March 3B versions
| Rocket | Flown | Launches | Success rate | Height | Payload to LEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long March 3B | 1996 to 2023 | 24 | 88% | 54.8 m | 11,500 kg |
| Long March 3B/E | 2007 to 2026 | 78 | 97% | 56.3 m | 12,000 kg |
| Long March 3B/YZ-1 | 2015 to 2024 | 15 | 100% | 54.8 m | 11,500 kg |