Long March 8A | SatNet LEO Group TBD?
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation · Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China
T-··:··:··
2026-11-20 11:00Z
Rocket file · LV-518
Long March 8A
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation · Long March · IN SERVICE
Long March 8A is an expendable launch vehicle built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It stands 50.5 m tall, lifts 9,800 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 11 February 2025. It has flown 12 times with 12 successes, a success rate of 100.0%. Its next flight is Long March 8A | SatNet LEO Group TBD? for China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, no earlier than November 20, 2026 at about 11:00 UTC.
Specification
Vehicle spec sheet
ON FILE
Height50.5 m
Diameter3.4 m
Payload to LEO9,800 kg
Payload to GTO3,500 kg
Maiden flight11 February 2025
ReusableNo, expendable
Launch costNOT ON FILE
StatusIN SERVICE
As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.
Flight record
Reliability
ON RECORD
Total flights12
Successful12
Failed0
Success rate100.0%
Landing attempts0
Landing successN/A
Scheduled0
VariantA
About Long March 8A
The Long March 8A is an orbital launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology based on the Long March 8. It has an increased capability of up to 7 tonnes to a 700 km altitude sun-synchronous orbit. It implements a larger 3.35 meters diameter liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen 2nd stage, coupled with 2 upgraded version of the YF-75D engines used on the Long March 5 (known as the YF-75H) with increased thrust to 10 tonnes each through measures such as increased turbopump speeds. The Long March 8A can also use a larger 5.2 meters diameter payload fairing.
Upcoming flights
Long March 8A in the archive
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Common questions
- How many times has Long March 8A flown?
- 12 times, with 12 successes and 0 failures.
- What is Long March 8A's success rate?
- 100.0%. That's 12 successful flights out of 12 attempts.
- When is the next Long March 8A launch?
- Long March 8A | SatNet LEO Group TBD?, flown by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It's set for no earlier than November 20, 2026 at about 11:00 UTC from Commercial LC-1.
- How much can Long March 8A lift to orbit?
- Launch Library 2 lists Long March 8A at 9,800 kg to low Earth orbit and 3,500 kg to geostationary transfer orbit.
- Is Long March 8A reusable?
- No. Launch Library 2 lists Long March 8A as expendable, so no stage is recovered to fly again.