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Long March 2D
The Long March 2D (长征二号丁, CZ-2D) is a Chinese two-stage orbital launch vehicle made by SAST, first flown in 1992, mainly for low Earth and sun-synchronous orbits.
Long March 2F
The Long March 2F (长征二号F, CZ-2F) is a human-rated Chinese expendable rocket that has launched every crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, Tiangong lab modules, and the Shenlong spaceplane, with the only launch escape system in China.
Long March 3A
Long March 3A (长征三号甲, CZ-3A) is a Chinese three-stage cryogenic launch vehicle first flown in 1994, capable of placing 2,600 kg into geostationary transfer orbit.
Long March 3B (长征三号乙)
The Long March 3B (长征三号乙), also designated CZ-3B, is a Chinese three-stage rocket with four liquid boosters that carries communications, navigation, and lunar missions, first flown in 1996.
Long March 3B/YZ-1
The Long March 3B/YZ-1 is a Chinese launch vehicle combining the Long March 3B rocket with the Yuanzheng-1 (远征一号) upper stage, used to launch pairs of Beidou navigation satellites.
Long March 3C
The Long March 3C (Chang Zheng 3C, CZ-3C) is a Chinese three-stage orbital launch vehicle of the Long March family, flown from Xichang and typically carrying Beidou navigation satellites.
Long March 4B
The Long March 4B, also designated CZ-4B or LM-4B, is a Chinese three-stage orbital launch vehicle built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and flown since 1999.
Long March 4C
Long March 4C (长征四号丙, CZ-4C) is a Chinese three-stage expendable orbital launch vehicle built by SAST, first flown in 2006 and still active with about 58 missions.
Long March 5
Long March 5 (长征五号, CZ-5) is a Chinese heavy-lift rocket developed by CALT, first flown in 2016 from Wenchang; it carries 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit and launches China's space station modules.
Long March 5 (长征五号)
The Long March 5 (长征五号, Changzheng 5) is a Chinese heavy-lift expendable rocket developed by CASC and first flown in 2016 from Wenchang, carrying lunar sample-return and Mars missions.
Long March 6
Long March 6 (长征六号, CZ-6) is a Chinese three-stage small-lift rocket developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology that first flew in September 2015, carrying 20 satellites.
Long March 6A
The Long March 6A (长征六号甲, CZ-6A) is a Chinese medium-lift launch vehicle developed by CASC, first flown in March 2022 from Taiyuan to launch China's low Earth orbit broadband constellations.
Long March 7A
The Long March 7A (长征七号A) is a Chinese three-stage expendable rocket operated by CASC from Wenchang, Hainan, that can place up to 7 tonnes into geostationary transfer orbit.
Long March 8A
Long March 8A (长征八号甲) is a Chinese expendable medium-lift launch vehicle developed by CALT, first flown on 11 February 2025 from Wenchang to deploy low Earth orbit satellite constellations.
Long March 9 (长征九号)
The Long March 9, also known as Changzheng 9 (长征九号), is a Chinese super-heavy-lift rocket under development, planned to lift 100 to 150 tons to orbit with a first flight around 2033.
Loop heat pipe
A loop heat pipe (LHP) is a passive two-phase heat transport device driven by capillary forces, invented in the Soviet Union in the early 1980s and used for spacecraft thermal control.
Lost Cosmonauts
Lost Cosmonauts, also known as Phantom Cosmonauts, is a conspiracy theory claiming the Soviet Union sent cosmonauts into space before Yuri Gagarin and concealed their deaths.
Low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit (LEO) is the region of Earth orbit between roughly 200 and 2,000 km altitude, where satellites complete a revolution in 88 to 127 minutes.
Low Earth orbit satellite population
The low Earth orbit satellite population is the set of objects below 2,000 km altitude: about 34,000 cataloged objects, roughly 16,000 active satellites, and millions of modeled debris pieces.
Low lunar orbit
A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit around the Moon tens to about a hundred kilometers up, completed roughly every two hours and destabilized by lunar mascons.
Low-energy transfer
A low-energy transfer (LET) is a spacecraft trajectory between two bodies, such as Earth and the Moon, that uses a third body's gravity to save propellant.
Low-gain antenna
A low-gain antenna (LGA) is a spacecraft antenna that broadcasts over wide directions, maintaining a link with ground stations without precise pointing, typically below 8 to 10 dBi.
Low-noise block downconverter
A low-noise block downconverter, or LNB, is the device at a satellite dish's focus that amplifies the weak signal and converts it for coaxial cable.
Lucy (spacecraft)
Lucy, also known as NASA Lucy, is a NASA spacecraft launched in 2021 on a 12-year mission, the first to visit the Jupiter Trojan asteroids.
Luna 1
Luna 1 was a Soviet lunar probe launched on 2 January 1959, intended to impact the Moon; it flew past instead and became the first spacecraft to enter orbit around the Sun.
Luna 16
Luna 16 was a Soviet robotic probe that in 1970 became the first spacecraft to automatically return lunar soil to Earth, landing in Mare Fecunditatis and delivering 101 grams.
Luna 2
Luna 2, also known as Lunik II, was a Soviet probe that became the first human-made object to reach the Moon, impacting it in 1959.
Luna 20
Luna 20 was a Soviet uncrewed lunar sample return mission launched in February 1972 that drilled soil from the lunar highlands and returned it to Earth.
Luna 24
Luna 24 was a Soviet robotic spacecraft that drilled a core sample from Mare Crisium on the Moon and returned it to Earth in August 1976, the last Soviet lunar mission.
Luna 25
Luna 25 (Луна-25), originally Luna-Glob, was a Russian robotic lunar lander launched in August 2023, Russia's first lunar mission since 1976, which crashed on the Moon.