Long March 4

The April 17 launch was the 59th mission for the Long March 4C.

The Long March 4C can deliver 4,200 kilograms to low Earth orbit, 2,800 kilograms to sun-synchronous orbit, and 1,500 kilograms to geostationary transfer orbit.

The April 17 launch was the 117th launch for the Long March 4 series.

The Long March 4C’s first stage uses four YF-21C engines that generate 302 tons of thrust.

A Long March 4C rocket is at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center under clear skies at midday.

The Long March 4C launch carried the environmental monitoring satellite Daqi-2.

The Long March 4C’s third stage uses two YF-40A engines that generate 10 tons of thrust.

The Long March 4C is 45.9 meters tall and weighs 249,200 kilograms when fully fueled.

A Long March 4C launched from Jiuquan at 0410 UTC on Apr. 17, 2026.

The Long March 4C is an older-generation launch vehicle for low Earth orbit and sun-synchronous orbit missions.

The Long March 4C’s second stage uses one YF-22C engine and four YF-23C verniers that generate 80 tons of thrust.

The Long March 4C’s third stage can restart its engine.

The Long March 4C’s 3.8-meter-diameter payload fairing was upgraded to a composite material variant for the April 17 launch.

All three stages of the Long March 4C burn dinitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.

The Long March 4C sent the Daqi-2 greenhouse gas monitoring satellite into orbit.

Long March 4C Y41 launched a high-precision greenhouse gas detection satellite from Jiuquan at 04:10 UTC on April 17, 2026.

The Long March 4C’s first and second stages have a diameter of 3.35 meters, its third stage has a diameter of 2.9 meters, and its fairing has a diameter of 3.8 meters.

A second drop zone in the Bay of Bengal would have made the mission a Long March 4 series launch.