Long March 8

The Long March 8 uses a two-and-a-half-stage design and burns rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen in its first stage and boosters and liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in its second stage.

Long March 8 Y8 was at Hainan at 14:42 UTC on May 17, 2026.

The Long March 8 was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

The Long March 8’s second stage uses two YF-75 engines that produce 17 tons of thrust.

The Long March 8 stands 50.34 meters tall and weighs 356,000 kilograms when fully fueled.

A Long March 8 launched from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on May 17 at 22:42 China Standard Time carrying a new group of connectivity satellites to sun-synchronous orbit.

The Long March 8’s boosters and first stage use YF-100 engines and produce a combined thrust of 490 tons at liftoff.

China plans more than 24 annual launches of the expendable Long March 8A from 2027 onwards to support its megaconstellation deployment plans.

China’s Long March 8A launch plan was established years ago and does not rely purely on reusability.

Long March 8 launched G60/Spacesail Group-7 from Hainan at 13:32 UTC on April 7, 2026.

GuoWang spacecraft launched on the Long March 8A and Long March 12 use a smaller satellite platform of about 695 kilograms.

The Long March 8 stands 50.34 meters tall and weighs 356,000 kilograms when fully fueled.

The Long March 8 second stage is powered by two YF-75 engines.

The Long March 8A has flown seven times, and each flight deployed GuoWang connectivity mega-constellation satellites.

A Long March 8 launched from Hainan commercial spaceport at 1332 UTC on Apr. 7, 2026.

A CZ-8 rocket is standing on a launch pad in the image.

A Long March 8 launched from Commercial Launch Pad 1 at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site on April 7 at 21:32 China Standard Time.

The Long March 8 has a payload capacity of 8,100 kilograms to low Earth orbit.