Long March 2E

The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Designed to launch commercial communications satellites, the Long March 2E was retired in favour of the Long March 3B, after two launch failures. Launched from complex 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, it is a three-stage carrier rocket. The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990, and was retired on 28 December 1995. It forms the basis of the Long March 2F, used to launch manned Shenzhou missions. The booster rockets have also been reused on the Long March 3B and Long March 3C.

Launches

The Long March 2E made its maiden flight on 16 July 1990 and made 7 launches in total. The first failed launch occurred on 21 December 1992, during the launch of the original Optus B2. Windshear caused the payload fairing to implode 45 seconds into flight. Despite this, the rocket continued on to orbit, and deployed what was left of the upper stage and payload into a low Earth orbit. The second failure occurred on 25 January 1995, during the launch of APStar 2. Again, windshear led to the collapse of the payload fairing, however on this occasion, the rocket exploded. Debris fell on a nearby village killing a number of residents.

Long March

The Long March (October 1934 – October 1935) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party) army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the north and west. The best known is the march from Jiangxi province which began in October 1934. The First Front Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by an inexperienced military commission, was on the brink of annihilation by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their stronghold in Jiangxi province. The Communists, under the eventual command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed over 9,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) over 370 days. The route passed through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by traveling west, then north, to Shaanxi.

Long March (Pakistan)

The Long March (Urdu: لانگ مارچ‎) was a public protest against alleged governmental corruption in Pakistan. The march moved from Lahore to Islamabad between 14 and 17 January 2013 and was organised by the Pakistani Sufi scholar Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri. On 17 January, Qadri made a deal with the government, termed the Islamabad Long March Declaration, that ended the protest.

Background

A series of corruption scandals had plagued Pakistan in the years preceding 2013, including a case against President Asif Zardari and former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, who was found to be in contempt of court. The leader of the long march stayed in a bulletproof container. As the march culminated, incumbent Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was also found guilty of corruption in his previous cabinet post, as Minister for Water and Power. A general election is due to be held in the spring of 2013.

Shortly after returning from self-imposed exile in Canada (where he acquired Canadian citizenship), Qadri gave a speech on 23 December 2012, in which he denounced the rampant corruption at all levels of government. The speech galvanised demonstrators who were already frustrated with the president's inability to reduce militancy and improve the economy of Pakistan.

Long March 11

The Long March 11 (Chinese: 长征十一号运载火箭), or Chang Zheng 11 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM-11 for export or CZ-11 within China, is a Chinese solid-fuelled carrier rocket, which is developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Its maiden flight occurred on September 25, 2015.

List of Launches

References