Long March 2C/YZ-1S Launches Shiyan 33: 27 March 2026 Recap

What happened?

A Long March 2C/YZ-1S rocket successfully launched the Shiyan 33 satellite from Launch Area 94 (SLS-2) at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 27 March 2026 at 04:11 UTC. The mission was operated by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and reached orbit as planned, according to the flight's confirmed success status.

The Long March 2C is a two-stage, liquid-fueled launch vehicle burning hypergolic propellants, and the YZ-1S (Yuanzheng-1S) is an upper stage that provides additional burns to place payloads into their target orbit. Shiyan is a series of Chinese experimental technology-verification satellites.

When was the launch?

The launch occurred on 27 March 2026 at 04:11 UTC. Jiuquan, located in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, operates on China Standard Time (UTC+8), placing the local liftoff at 12:11 on the same day.

What is the Long March 2C/YZ-1S?

The Long March 2C (Chang Zheng 2C) is one of China's most reliable workhorse rockets, having flown since 1982. It stands roughly 43 meters tall and can deliver around 3,850 kg to low Earth orbit. The two core stages burn a hypergolic combination of nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, propellants that ignite on contact and require no separate ignition system.

The addition of the YZ-1S upper stage extends the rocket's capability. The Yuanzheng (