{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.long-march-4a","code":"thing-q54178","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q54178/","name":"Long March 4A","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Long March 4A was a Chinese three-stage expendable orbital launch vehicle developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and used to launch the first two Fengyun-1 meteorological satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.","purpose":"Enable an agent to identify the Long March 4A launch-vehicle design, assess evidence about its capabilities and history, and distinguish legitimate historical uses from unsupported operational claims.","scope":{"in":["CZ-4A designation, aliases and distinction from neighbouring Long March variants","Three-stage configuration and documented component applicability","Payload accommodation and orbit-dependent launch capability","Flight heritage and attribution of launch outcomes","Retirement, surviving hardware classification and evidence required for handling"],"out":["The complete Long March launch-vehicle family","Long March 4B and 4C designs and their independent capabilities","Individual manufactured vehicles and their maintenance records","Launch events, trajectories and range operations as independent activities","Fengyun satellite design and post-separation mission operations"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Require an explicit CZ-4A or 长征四号甲 designation; a document labelled only Long March 4 does not establish variant identity.","Check for the Shanghai-developed, CZ-2C-derived configuration with an added liquid third stage. [CASC product record](https://www.spacechina.com/n25/n146/n238/n12985/c15335/content.html)","Check for three liquid stages using nitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine; this combination supports identification but cannot establish the A variant alone. [CASC product record](https://www.spacechina.com/n25/n146/n238/n12985/c15335/content.html)","Cross-check claimed flight heritage against two successful Fengyun-1 launches and retired status; additional missions require variant reassessment. [CASC product record](https://www.spacechina.com/n25/n146/n238/n12985/c15335/content.html)"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"variant-identity-and-lineage","name":"Variant identity and lineage","description":"Establish exactly which design a Long March 4A reference denotes.","layers":[{"id":"designation-resolution","name":"Designation resolution","description":"Resolve Chinese names, romanizations and abbreviated designations.","findings":[{"id":"cz-4a-reference-test","name":"CZ-4A reference test","description":"Require evidence that a reference identifies the A variant rather than the family, another variant or an individual flight.","questions":[{"text":"Which original designation or contextual evidence establishes that this reference means CZ-4A?","id":"cz-4a-reference-test-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Does the reference describe the design, a manufactured vehicle, a launch event or a replica?","id":"cz-4a-reference-test-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"development-and-inheritance","name":"Development and inheritance","description":"Track design ancestry and responsibility without assuming component equivalence.","findings":[{"id":"documented-design-inheritance","name":"Documented design inheritance","description":"Separate the documented CZ-2C development relationship from claims about unchanged hardware or compatibility.","questions":[{"text":"Which contemporary records identify the developing institution and its role?","id":"documented-design-inheritance-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which systems were retained, modified or added relative to CZ-2C, and what evidence supports each relationship?","id":"documented-design-inheritance-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"flight-configuration-and-sequencing","name":"Flight configuration and sequencing","description":"Describe the evidence needed to recognize the flown three-stage architecture.","layers":[{"id":"stage-and-propulsion-identity","name":"Stage and propulsion identity","description":"Qualify stage, engine and propellant descriptions by variant and flight.","findings":[{"id":"stage-configuration-baseline","name":"Stage configuration baseline","description":"Record stage-specific configuration evidence while leaving unverified engine designations and performance values unsettled.","questions":[{"text":"Which engine designations and propulsion arrangements are documented for each CZ-4A stage?","id":"stage-configuration-baseline-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What stage masses and thrust values are supported, with operating conditions and units?","id":"stage-configuration-baseline-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"control-and-separation","name":"Control and separation","description":"Represent documented flight phases and their completion evidence.","findings":[{"id":"supported-flight-transitions","name":"Supported flight transitions","description":"Distinguish verified ignition, cutoff, stage separation, fairing release and payload separation capabilities from assumptions imported from successors.","questions":[{"text":"Which records establish the CZ-4A guidance architecture and flight-phase transitions?","id":"supported-flight-transitions-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What evidence establishes whether its third stage supported restart or only a single burn?","id":"supported-flight-transitions-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"payload-and-orbit-capability","name":"Payload and orbit capability","description":"Connect payload accommodation with qualified orbital performance.","layers":[{"id":"payload-accommodation","name":"Payload accommodation","description":"Identify the configuration-dependent space and interfaces available to payloads.","findings":[{"id":"payload-interface-evidence","name":"Payload interface evidence","description":"Require CZ-4A-specific documentation for fairing clearance, adapters and launch environments.","questions":[{"text":"What usable fairing envelope and adapter interfaces are documented for the flown configurations?","id":"payload-interface-evidence-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which records establish allowable payload loads and environmental limits?","id":"payload-interface-evidence-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"orbit-performance-qualification","name":"Orbit performance qualification","description":"Keep design ratings distinct from demonstrated delivery.","findings":[{"id":"qualified-payload-rating","name":"Qualified payload rating","description":"Attach orbit, launch conditions and configuration to every capability figure.","questions":[{"text":"What payload mass is supported for a specified altitude and inclination, and is it a rating or a flown result?","id":"qualified-payload-rating-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does the evidence support the proposed mission comparison, or only the historical Fengyun configuration?","id":"qualified-payload-rating-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"flight-heritage-and-retirement","name":"Flight heritage and retirement","description":"Use historical outcomes and retirement evidence to constrain present-day interpretation.","layers":[{"id":"mission-outcome-attribution","name":"Mission outcome attribution","description":"Associate each claimed flight with its payload and launch-specific outcome.","findings":[{"id":"bounded-flight-heritage","name":"Bounded flight heritage","description":"The manufacturer reports two successful launches; preserve that denominator and distinguish insertion success from later spacecraft service. [CASC product record](https://www.spacechina.com/n25/n146/n238/n12985/c15335/content.html)","questions":[{"text":"Which primary records establish each launch time, time zone, vehicle identifier and complete payload manifest?","id":"bounded-flight-heritage-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What orbital-delivery criteria defined success, and which subsequent events belong to the satellite model?","id":"bounded-flight-heritage-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"retirement-and-hardware-disposition","name":"Retirement and hardware disposition","description":"Separate programme retirement from the condition of any surviving artifact.","findings":[{"id":"artifact-action-eligibility","name":"Artifact action eligibility","description":"Require specimen-specific evidence before classifying purported CZ-4A hardware as authentic, inert, display-ready or eligible for handling.","questions":[{"text":"What records distinguish a surviving flight-related component from a test article or replica?","id":"artifact-action-eligibility-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What documented decommissioning, residual-propellant, pressure-system and pyrotechnic status supports the proposed handling action?","id":"artifact-action-eligibility-q02","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which issuing authority and applicable document govern that action for this specimen?","id":"artifact-action-eligibility-q03","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of Long March 4A this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Long March 4A this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Long March 4A this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of Long March 4A this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Long March 4A this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Long March 4A this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Identify launches of this three-stage vehicle from official records.","Report the satellites it launched and launch outcomes accurately."],"mustNot":["Assist in developing or improving ballistic missiles.","Present uncertain launch claims as fact.","Confuse it with later versions of the same family."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing analysis that ties civil launch technology to weapons programmes."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Spent stages and toxic propellants affect people near launch and impact areas.","Weather satellites it launched serve the public, so honest records matter."],"affectedParties":["People under flight paths","Launch crews","Users of satellite data"]},"owners":{"steward":"The state space programme that operated it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["United Nations Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q5979791","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.long-march-4a","Wikidata: Q54178 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54178)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Variant identity: Long March 4A; Changzheng 4A; CZ-4A; 长征四号甲","Stage configuration: Three liquid-propellant stages","Payload capability at specified orbit: kg, accompanied by altitude in km, inclination in degrees and configuration","Vehicle dimensions and mass basis: Length and diameter in m; dry and liftoff mass in kg; fairing and payload inclusion stated","Development attribution: Design linked to responsible institution under its period-appropriate name","Programme lifecycle: Retired; source date and retirement evidence attached","Flight outcome evidence: Launch-event links with payload, date, outcome definition and supporting source"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Three-stage rocket of the Long March 4 family.","Launch records name the satellites carried on each flight."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Resolve historical names and documents to the CZ-4A design with an explicit confidence level.","Compare CZ-4A with related variants using only configuration-qualified evidence.","Assess whether a stated payload and orbit combination has documented historical support.","Link launch records and hardware specimens without merging their identities into the design.","Flag unsupported claims of current availability, component interchangeability or specimen safety."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Toxic propellants harm people near launch and impact sites.","Spent upper stages add to space debris.","Launch failure and falling debris."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space (Outer Space Treaty), United Nations.","Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, United Nations."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["This retired launch vehicle is encountered in histories of Chinese spaceflight and records of early meteorological satellite launches.","Its documentation supports comparison of launch vehicle development and verification of historical payload and orbit claims."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q54178: Long March 4A","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54178","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Long March 4A","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March_4A","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which primary specifications resolve conflicting published dimensions, liftoff masses and payload capacities, including their configuration and orbital assumptions?","What engine versions, guidance systems, electrical power arrangements and third-stage restart limitations were actually flown?","What were the exact launch timestamps, launch facilities, vehicle identifiers and complete payload manifests for both flights?","Which qualification standards, acceptance criteria and documented anomalies applied specifically to CZ-4A?","When was retirement formally established, and what authenticated hardware and decommissioning records survive?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q54178/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q54178/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T11:02:02Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:31+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}