A Chinese Long March 7A rocket carrying the ChinaSat-4B satellite exploded shortly after liftoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern China on Monday, news agency Reuters reported.
The rocket exploded near the coastal spaceport about 85 seconds after liftoff, according to footage circulating on social media. The rocket lifted off at 8.02 pm Beijing time but encountered a flight anomaly shortly after launch, leading to the failure of the mission, according to state news agency Xinhua. The incident marks the first known failure of the Long March 7A since its maiden flight in March 2020. The rocket returned to service in 2021 and has since completed a series of successful missions. The Long March 7A made its debut in March 2020, with its maiden flight also ending in failure. It subsequently completed several successful launches, including the Tianlian-3 (01) satellite mission in late July.
China National Radio initially reported the launch, but the report was later made unavailable.
The report said the cause of the anomaly was being further analysed. The Long March 7A is designed to carry satellites into geosynchronous orbit and has increasingly been used as a replacement for the older, hypergolic Long March 3B for such missions, according to SpaceNews. China’s space authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the mission’s outcome. Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.