Long March 7

The Long March 7 (Chinese: 长征七号运载火箭), or Chang Zheng 7 in pinyin, abbreviated LM-7 for export or CZ-7 within China, originally Long March 2F/H or Chang Zheng 2F/H, nicknamed Bingjian (冰箭; 'the Ice Arrow'), is a Chinese liquid-fuelled medium-lift launch vehicle of the Long March family, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST). It made its inaugural flight on 25 June 2016. Designed as a replacement of the Long March 2F, Long March 7 and its variants was expected to be the workhorse of the fleet, projected to account for around 70% of all Chinese launches. Long March 7 plays a critical role in the Tiangong space station program: it is used to launch the Tianzhou robotic cargo and resupply spacecraft. Although initially planned to replace the Long March 2F as China's crew-rated launch vehicle, by 2023 this role has apparently shifted by the under-development Long March 10A. Unlike older Chinese rockets, CZ-7 does not use hypergolic propellants. The vehicle has two kerolox-fuelled base stages, and uses six YF-100 engines at launch, one each on four boosters and two on the core first stage; the second stage uses four YF-115 engines. The Long March 7A variant, flying from 2020, has a hydrolox third stage powered by two YF-75 engines, inherited from the third stage of the Long March 3B. The rocket has also been developed into the Long March 8 using fewer boosters.