Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Template:Short description Template:Coord Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use American English

Template:Infobox launch pad Template:Infobox Chinese Template:GeogroupJiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; Template:Zh also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (Template:Lang); Base 20; 63600 Unit)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility (spaceport), a corps grade<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> subordinate unit of the PLA Aerospace Force. It is located between the Ejin Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia and Hangtian Town, Jinta County, Jiuquan Prefecture, Gansu Province.<ref>The clear division is controversial.</ref> It is part of the Dongfeng Aerospace City (Base 10). Because 95% of JSLC located in Jinta County, Jiuquan, the launch center is named after Jiuquan. The launch center straddles both sides of the Ruo Shui river.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

It was founded in 1958, the first of China's four spaceports. As with most Chinese launch facilities, it is remote and generally closed to foreigners.

The Satellite Launch Center is a part of Dongfeng Space City (Template:Lang), also known as Base 10 (Template:Lang) or Dongfeng base (Template:Lang). The Dongfeng site also includes People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) test flight facilities, a space museum and a martyrs' cemetery (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed

JSLC is usually used to launch vehicles into lower and medium orbits with large orbital inclination angles, as well as testing medium to long-range missiles. Its facilities are state of the art and provide support to every phase of a satellite launch campaign.Template:Citation needed The site includes the Technical Center, the Launch Complex, the Launch Control Center, the Mission Command and Control Center and various other logistical support systems.

The center covers 2800 km² and may have housing for as many as 20,000 people. The facilities and launch support equipment were likely modelled on Soviet counterparts and the Soviet Union likely provided technical support to Jiuquan.Template:Cn

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was expanded during the Third Front campaign to develop basic industry and national defense industry in China's rugged interior to prepare for potential invasion by the Soviet Union or the United States.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

The launch center has been the focus of many of China's ventures into space, including their first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp and their first crewed space mission Shenzhou 5 on 15 October 2003. As of 2021, all Chinese crewed space flights, meaning all flights in the Shenzhou program including crewed flights to the Tiangong space station, have launched from Jiuquan.Template:Cn

In August 2016, China launched the first quantum communication satellite, the "Quantum Experiments at Space Scale", from the center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2018, Chinese private rocket manufacturing startups i-Space and OneSpace launched sub-orbital rockets from the center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 25 July 2019, the first Chinese private orbital launch took place from Jiuquan as I-Space launched their Hyperbola-1 rocket.Template:Cn

Launch pads

The launch site comprises two launch complexes, each containing several launch locations. All the launch statistics reported below are up to date as of December 2023.

North Launch Complex

The North Launch Complex consists in two different launch areas, both currently inactive.

Launch Area 2: used for both orbital launches and ballistic missile tests.
- LA-2A: used for launches of the DF-3 and DF-5 ballistic missiles and hosted the first Chinese orbital launches, carried out through the CZ-1 launch vehicle. It hasn't hosted orbital launch attempts since 1971. (Template:Coord)
- LA-2B: used for orbital launches of the CZ-2A, CZ-2C, CZ-2D and FB-1 launch vehicles. It has been last used in 1996. (Template:Coord)

Launch Area 3: situated approximately 2.7 km south of Launch Area 2, used for launches of the DF-1, DF-2 and R-2 ballistic missiles.
- North pad (located at approximately Template:Coord)
- South pad (located at approximately Template:Coord )

South Launch Complex

The South Launch complex is currently active and consists in a main launch area used by CASC to handle the launches of several Long March vehicles and a variety of concrete pads for small rocket launches.

Launch Area 4: it's situated approximately 37.9 km south of Launch Area 3.
- SLS-1 (LS-43/91): it has been used since 1999 for the launches of the crew-rated CZ-2F launcher and it's equipped with a nearby Vertical Assembly Facility. (Template:Coord)
- SLS-2 (LS-43/94): operational since 2003, it has been hosting launches of various medium-lift launch vehicles of the Long March family, including CZ-2C, CZ-2D, CZ-4B and CZ-4C. (Template:Coord)

Commercial launch pads: situated in multiple locations south and east of Launch Area 4, they're used for small rocket launches of different government-owned and private companies.
- LS-95: consisting in two pads, it has hosted launches of the Long March 11, Kuaizhou, Jielong 1, OS-M1, Hyperbola-1 and Ceres-1 launch vehicles. The first launch, a test flight of the Kuaizhou-1 rocket, took place on 25 September 2013, while the last one was a Kuaizhou 1A launch on 11 January 2024.
  - Pad A (Template:Coord), the most used, accounts for a total of 47 launch attempts
  - Pad B (Template:Coord) hosted only 5 launches.
- LS-96: a single pad handled by the private company LandSpace for the launches of its Zhuque-2 launch vehicle. It has hosted 3 launches so far, two of which successful. (Template:Coord)
- LS-120: a single pad handled by the private company Space Pioneer for the launches if its Tianlong-2 launch vehicle. It has hosted only one successful launch as of today. (Template:Coord)
- LS-130: a single pad handled by the state-owned company CAS Space for the launches of their Kinetica 1 launch vehicle. It has hosted 3 successful launches as of today. (Template:Coord)

Launches

Previous launches

Date (UTC)	Vehicle	Serial number	Launch Pad	Payload	Outcome	Notes
24 April 1970 13:35	Long March 1	Y1	LA-2A	Dong Fang Hong 1	Template:Success	First satellite launched by China.
3 March 1971 12:15	Long March 1	Y2	LA-2A	Shijian 1	Template:Success
18 September 1973	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	JSSW-1	Template:Failure
12 July 1974	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	JSSW-2	Template:Failure
5 November 1974	Long March 2		LA-2B	FSW-0 0	Template:Failure	Maiden flight of Long March 2.
26 July 1975	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	JSSW-3	Template:Success
26 November 1975	Long March 2		LA-2B	FSW-0 1	Template:Success
16 December 1975	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	JSSW-4	Template:Success
30 August 1976	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	JSSW-5	Template:Success
10 November 1975	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	JSSW-6	Template:Failure
7 December 1976	Long March 2		LA-2B	FSW-0 2	Template:Success
26 January 1978	Long March 2		LA-2B	FSW-0 3	Template:Success
28 July 1979	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	Shijian-2A	Template:Failure
20 September 1981	Feng Bao 1		LA-2B	Shijian-2	Template:Success
9 September 1982	Long March 2C	Y1	LA-2B	FSW-0 4	Template:Success	Maiden flight of the Long March 2C.
19 August 1983	Long March 2C	Y2	LA-2B	FSW-0 5	Template:Success
12 September 1984	Long March 2C	Y3	LA-2B	FSW-0 6	Template:Success
21 October 1985	Long March 2C	Y4	LA-2B	FSW-0 7	Template:Success
6 October 1986	Long March 2C	Y5	LA-2B	FSW-0 8	Template:Success
5 August 1987	Long March 2C	Y6	LA-2B	FSW-0 9	Template:Success
9 September 1987	Long March 2C	Y7	LA-2B	FSW-1 1	Template:Success
5 August 1988	Long March 2C	Y8	LA-2B	FSW-1 2	Template:Success
5 October 1990	Long March 2C	Y9	LA-2B	FSW-1 3	Template:Success
9 August 1992	Long March 2D	Y1	LA-2B	FSW-0 5	Template:Success	Maiden flight of the Long March 2D.
6 October 1992	Long March 2C	Y10	LA-2B	FSW-1 4 Template:Flagicon Freja	Template:Success
8 October 1993	Long March 2C	Y11	LA-2B	FSW-1 5	Template:Success
3 July 1994	Long March 2D	Y2	LA-2B	FSW-2 2	Template:Success
20 October 1996	Long March 2D	Y3	LA-2B	FSW-2 3	Template:Success
20 November 1999	Long March 2F	Y1	SLS-1	Shenzhou 1	Template:Success	Maiden flight of Long March 2F.
9 January 2001	Long March 2F	Y2	SLS-1	Shenzhou 2	Template:Success
25 March 2002	Long March 2F	Y3	SLS-1	Shenzhou 3	Template:Success
29 December 2002	Long March 2F	Y4	SLS-1	Shenzhou 4	Template:Success
15 October 2003	Long March 2F	Y5	SLS-1	Shenzhou 5	Template:Success
3 November 2003	Long March 2D	Y4	SLS-2	FSW-3 1	Template:Success
19 August 2004	Long March 2C	Y	SLS-2	FSW-4 1	Template:Success
27 September 2004	Long March 2D	Y	SLS-2	FSW-3 2	Template:Success
6 July 2005	Long March 2D	Y	SLS-2	Shijian-7	Template:Success
2 August 2005	Long March 2C	Y	SLS-2	FSW-4 2	Template:Success
29 August 2005	Long March 2D	Y	SLS-2	FSW-3 3	Template:Success
12 October 2005	Long March 2F	Y6	SLS-1	Shenzhou 6	Template:Success
9 September 2006	Long March 2D	Y	SLS-2	Shijian-8	Template:Success
25 May 2007	Long March 2D	Y	SLS-2	Yaogan 2	Template:Success
25 April 2024 12:59	Long March 2F	2F-Y18	SLS-1	Shenzhou 18	Template:Success
30 October 2024	Long March 2F/G	2F-Y19	SLS-1	Shenzhou 19	Template:Success
24 April 2025	Long March 2F/G	2F-Y20	SLS-1	Shenzhou 20	Template:Success

Upcoming launches

Date	Vehicle	Serial number	Launch Pad	Payload	Outcome	Notes
April 2025	Long March 2F/G	2F-Y20	SLS-1	Shenzhou 20	Template:Planned
October 2025	Long March 2F/G	2F-Y21	SLS-1	Shenzhou 21	Template:Planned

Image gallery

KH-7 satellite image of the Shuang Cheng Tzu Missile Center A (Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre) in 1967.
A warning board at the gate.
Launch Vehicle Vertical Assembly Building.
Tower 1 and 2 behind a sign.
Launch tower.
Launch of LM-2D (VRSS-1 / Miranda).
Roll out of CZ-2F (Shenzhou-12).
Launch of CZ-2F(Shenzhou-12).
Roll out of CZ-2F (Shenzhou-13).
Roll out of CZ-2F (Shenzhou 14).