China's Long March 7A Rocket Explodes After Launch, Satellite Lost
SCMP · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
China suffered a rare failure of one of its newer-generation rockets on Monday night, with the Long March 7A exploding less than 90 seconds after takeoff and losing the ChinaSat-4B communications satellite. The 60-meter rocket had blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the southern island of Hainan at around 8pm Beijing time, carrying the satellite toward high Earth orbit. Social media videos showed the vehicle erupting into a fireball engulfed in thick black smoke as it flew over the South China Sea. State news agency Xinhua confirmed the failure approximately three hours after launch, stating the rocket had experienced an "anomaly during flight" and that the cause was under investigation.
Key Points
- The Long March 7A rocket lifted off from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island at 8:02pm Beijing time on Monday
- The vehicle exploded approximately 85 seconds after liftoff, before first and second stage separation could occur
- The ChinaSat-4B satellite was expected to provide radio, television and military communications services globally
- This marks the second failure for the Long March 7A, which first failed during its maiden flight in March 2020
- The rocket had completed multiple successful missions since returning to flight in 2021, most recently launching the Tianlian-3 satellite on July 29
Why It Matters
The failure represents a setback for China's newer-generation launch vehicle program, which has been increasingly relied upon for sending large satellites to high orbits. The investigation into this anomaly will likely impact upcoming launch schedules and could affect the country's satellite deployment capabilities for both civilian and military communications networks.
The failure represents a setback for China's newer-generation launch vehicle program, which has been increasingly relied upon for sending large satellites to high orbits. The investigation into this anomaly will likely impact upcoming launch schedules and could affect the country's satellite deployment capabilities for both civilian and military communications networks.