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DF-3

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DF-3

AKA: CSS-2;DF-1 (before 1964);Dong-Feng 3;Dun-2. Status: Retired 2002. First Launch: 1966-12-26. Last Launch: 2001-08-21. Number: 12 . Payload: 2,140 kg (4,710 lb). Thrust: 1,224.00 kN (275,166 lbf). Gross mass: 64,000 kg (141,000 lb). Height: 23.99 m (78.70 ft). Diameter: 2.25 m (7.38 ft). Span: 2.74 m (8.98 ft). Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

Maximum range: 2,660 km (1,650 mi). Number Standard Warheads: 1. Warhead yield: 3,300 KT. CEP: 0.87 km (0.54 mi). Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket, Nitric acid+N2O4 (AK-27)/UDMH. Initial Operational Capability: 1971. Total Number Built: 90.

DF-4 Chinese intermediate range ballistic missile. Development of the DF-4 began in 1964 with the objective of fielding a ballistic missile capable of hitting Guam. The technical solution was to add a second stage to the DF-3 IRBM.

Chang Zheng 1 Chinese orbital launch vehicle. China began development of the CZ-1 (Changzheng-1 = Long March-1) launch vehicle in the second half of 1965. The project was undertaken with the specific objective of launching China's first satellite, the DFH-1. The CZ-l's first and second stages were adapted from those of the DF-3 intermediate range ballistic missile. The third stage used a new-design solid rocket motor.

Chang Zheng 1M Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Proposed launch vehicle derived from CZ-1, with an Italian Mage upper stage. Never flown.

Chang Zheng 1D Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Proposed launch vehicle derived from the CZ-1, but with a new N2O4/UDMH second stage. Used for a suborbital re-entry vehicle test but never flown on an orbital mission.

Photo Gallery

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Chinese RV Simulatio Test of low drag Chinese re-entry vehicle, 1998. Credit: Richard D. Fisher, Jr

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• DF-3 ICBM development begun. - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Program: Long March.

  Tsien appoints himself head of the DF-3 project - a quantum leap to build a 10,000 km range liquid oxygen/kerosene propellant intercontinental ballistic missile. The objective proves much too ambitious and is eventually cancelled. It is the last missile project Tsien is allowed to manage.

• Chinese project management - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Tsien introduced a computer tool for management of Chinese aerospace development projects analogous to the American PERT program..

• Chinese missiles redesignated and new development plan adopted. - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Program: Long March.

  Tsien had conducted a series of meetings with the Chinese leadership during the year to redefine China's missile development plans. There are clashes between Tsien, who favours an American engineering approach, and his staff, who were trained in Russian and favour the Soviet approach. Finally the missiles were defined by their target objectives, and a new development plan was adopted, with definite goals. The 1059 missile (copy of Russian R-2) was redesignated DF-1. The DF-2 was to be improved to carry an atomic bomb to a range sufficient to hit Japan. The DF-3 ICBM was cancelled, and the new DF-3 project would involve development of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the Philippines (earlier referred to as the DF-1). The DF-4 was to be capable of hitting Guam, and the DF-5 would be an ICBM capable of reaching the United States. The DF-2, DF-3 and DF-4 would use strap-down accelerometer guidance packages, while the DF-5 was to be equipped with a full-fledged inertial guidance unit.

• Project 651 - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1. Tsien presents his plan for a Chinese satellite to the Central Committee..

• Chinese satellite plans. - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1. Tsien says he can orbit a Chiense satellite in 1970 or 1971..

• Project 651 - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1. Zhou En Lai approves the plan for the construction and launch of China's first satellite..

• Chinese ICBM plans - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Tsien proposes to add electronic countermeasures and other penetration aids to the DF-5 ICBM in order to defeat the planned American ABM system..

• DFH-1 satellite defined. - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1. The satellite will be launched by the CZ-1 launch vehicle, a DFH-2 IRBM with a new upper stage..

• Cultural Revolution - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Tsien is now head of the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building (the former Fifth Academy). Cadres accuse Tsien of spreading Nazi propaganda in China after his visit to Germany in 1946..

• Test mission - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• R&D - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Tsien removed - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1.

  Tsien was overthrown by the 916 (Mao) Clique. Ye Zhengguang, a missile engineer, with the approval off Zhou En Lai and Marshall Nie, confronts Tsien and removes him from his post as head of the Seventh Ministry. Minister of Machine Building Wang Bingzhang was also deposed. However Tsien was protected by the leadership, made a 'Vice Minister', and claimed he supports the coup. Wang refused to cooperate and would not hand over the chops of his office to the 916 Clique.

• R&D - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• R&D - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Height of Cultural Revolution - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1. Yao Tongbin, a metallurgist at he Seventh Ministry, is beaten to death by Red Guards. Zhou En Lai intervenes, putting the top fifty missile scientists under this protection..

• R&D batch 02 - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Test mission - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• First Chinese satellite launch attempt ends in failure. - . Payload: DFH 1. Mass: 170 kg (370 lb). Nation: China. Class: Technology. Type: Navigation technology satellite. Spacecraft: DFH-1. COSPAR: F691116Z.

  The launch vehicle arrived at the site on 18 March 1969. The objective was to launch China's first satellite before Japan lofted its counterpart. Ren Xinmin had obtained this specific order from Deng Hsiao Peng. Great difficulties were encountered in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, including the sending of most of the satellite engineers to work on irrigation ditch construction in the provinces. The skirt for the satellite, designed to make it easily visible to ground observors, had to be made from a special silk produced in a factory without the knowledge of the Red Guards. The engineers went by bus to a department store in Beijing to study an imported folding umbrella as a model for the deployment mechanism -- they could not afford to buy it. The entire launch was kept secret until a documentary was released in 2001.

• R&D (Destruct) - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• R&D (Minfeng target) - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi). First test of prototype DF-3 (perhaps same configuration as CZ-1); not deployed..

• DFH-1 satellite launch authorised. - . Nation: China. Related Persons: Tsien. Spacecraft: DFH-1. Mao personally authorises the launch..

• DFH Mao 1 - . Payload: DFH 1. Mass: 173 kg (381 lb). Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Class: Technology. Type: Navigation technology satellite. Spacecraft: DFH-1. USAF Sat Cat: 4382 . COSPAR: 1970-034A. Apogee: 2,162 km (1,343 mi). Perigee: 434 km (269 mi). Inclination: 68.40 deg. Period: 111.60 min.

  The final campaign to launch China's first satellite began on April 1, 1970, when two DFH-1 satellites and the CZ-1 rocket arrived by train at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. This was over a year after the first attempt in 1969. Ren Xinmin was project leader and Qi Faren was leader of the DFH-1 experiment team. On April 2 Premier Zhou Enlai called a special meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for a final readiness review of the satellite and the launch vehicle. Zhou wanted special guarantees that the satellite would transmit the march 'The East is Red' from orbit.

  On the morning of April 24, 1970, the first and second stages of CZ-1 were loaded with propellant and stacked. The satellite was mated to the spin-stabilized solid-propellant third stage, and the launcher entered the final eight hours of launch preparation. Weather forecast for the launch at 9:30 p.m. called for clouds at above 7,000 meters and a wind speed of less than 4 to 5 meters per second.

  The historic launch came at 9:35 p.m. local time (13:35 UTC). Upon hearing the command "ignition", a launch controller pressed the button to start the rocket engines. The three-stage CZ-1, which was 29.46 meters tall and had a maximum diameter of 2.25 meters, lifted off the launch pad with a thrust of 104 tonnes. Liftoff weight of the CZ-1 was 81.5 tonnes. Rocket expert Shen Jianan recounted that "..as soon as I saw the liftoff on the TV screen inside the bunker, I ran outside. I could only see the beautiful rocket lighting up the night sky and streaking towards the southeast. I ran back inside to listen to the transmissions. Broadcasting on the speaker were status reports like 'capturing target', 'nominal tracking', 'nominal flight', 'nominal second and third stage separation'..." Thirteen minutes after launch, at 9:48 p.m., mission control announced "...satellite and rocket stage separation, satellite enters orbit...the bunker was filled with cheers".

  China became the fifth nation after the former Soviet Union, the United States, France and Japan to achieve an indigenous space launch capability. At 9:50 p.m., the National Broadcasting Bureau announced the acquisition of the tune 'East is Red' from the satellite loud and clear. In the following days, the People's Central Broadcasting radio and newspapers in Beijing announced and printed worldwide times of DFH-1 and CZ-1 third stage passages, and directions of travel in the sky. Senior officials in Beijing dispatched a chartered plane to JSLC to bring back Qi and other scientists. In the International Labour Day celebration on May 1, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou warmly welcomed them at the Tiananmen Square.

• Long range test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• SJ-1 - . Payload: Shi Jian 1. Mass: 221 kg (487 lb). Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Class: Technology. Type: Communications technology satellite. Spacecraft: DFH-1. Decay Date: 1979-06-17 . USAF Sat Cat: 5007 . COSPAR: 1971-018A. Apogee: 1,833 km (1,138 mi). Perigee: 265 km (164 mi). Inclination: 69.80 deg. Period: 106.10 min. Similar in appearance to the American Telstar and conducted communications technology tests..

• Long range test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Reentry wake test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Reentry wake test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Performance test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Date uncertain. First test of DF-4. - . Nation: China. Program: Long March.

• Performance test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Full range test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Full range test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• First DF-4 test from Jingyu. - . Nation: China. Program: Long March. First launch from Jingyu test site..

• Second DF-4 test from Jingyu. - . Nation: China. Program: Long March.

• Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Long life test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Long life test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• R&D range test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• R&D range test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Op test - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Training - . Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• Test mission - . Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Test mission - . Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi).

• Nation: China. Agency: MAI. Apogee: 500 km (310 mi).

• CZ-1 Missile Technology Test - . Nation: China. Agency: PRC. Apogee: 100 km (60 mi). Chinese People's Liberation Army test launch with dummy warhead. Suborbital - failure. Delayed from early November 2001..