A rocket carrying a communications satellite failed in its launch, state media said, attributing the failure to a “flight anomaly” as reports and videos suggested the spacecraft had exploded in mid-air.
Beijing has ploughed billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years to achieve what President Xi Jinping calls the country’s “space dream”.
Monday’s rare launch failure involved a Long March 7A carrier rocket, which lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s southernmost province of Hainan, Xinhua reported.
An “anomaly” occurred when the rocket, which was carrying the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite, was in flight, Xinhua added.
The cause of the failure is under investigation, it said.
China successfully landed a reusable rocket for the first time in July, according to its space agency, marking a major step in its space ambitions and in reducing launch costs.
The country is aiming to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030, a race in which the United States is also competing with its Artemis programme.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, commenting on a post about Monday’s failed launch on X, said that “rockets are insanely hard”.
“I hope they have a speedy recovery,” he added.
This is the second notable incident involving the Long March 7A rocket. Its maiden launch from the Wenchang site in 2020 was also unsuccessful after “a malfunction occurred”, Xinhua reported in March that year. — AFP
