Chinese rocket “Long March 7A” explodes after launch

China has suffered a major setback in its space program: a Chinese launch vehicle exploded shortly after take-off on Monday evening. The approximately 60 meter long “Langer March 7A” rocket was intended to carry the ChinaSat-4B communications satellite into space.

But less than 90 seconds after launch, the rocket turned into a fireball. Thick black smoke rose, as videos posted on social media by onlookers near the spaceport show.

"The rocket experienced an anomaly during the flight and the launch mission failed," said the state news agency Xinhua. The causes of the incident are now being investigated.

It is the first known false start for the “Long March 7A” since its maiden flight in March 2020. At that time, the rocket also failed after takeoff from the Wenchang spaceport.

In recent years, China has carried out hundreds of space missions with rockets from the “Long March” family. Among other things, communications and internet satellites were brought into their intended orbits.

The Wenchang Cosmodrome is located on Hainan, a popular holiday island off the southern coast of China.