Long March 3B Rocket Crash

Date: February 15, 1996 • Location: Liangshan Yizu Zizhizhou, China

A Long March 3B rocket carrying the communications satellite Intelsat 708 crashed immediately after launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China, destroying a nearby town and killing an unknown number of inhabitants.

The Long March 3B, also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocket with four strap-on liquid rocket boosters, it is the heaviest variant of the Long March 3 rocket family, and is mainly used to place communications satellites and navigation satellites into geosynchronous orbits.