China’s new Long March-7A rocket fails first launch
- Rocket encountered an ‘abnormality’ during its ascent Monday night, state media reported
- Failure could put a dent in China’s ambitious space plans for the year and affect planned launches of other rockets in the Long March family
A new type of Chinese rocket failed in its first launch on Monday night, raising questions over the country’s ambitious space missions planned for the rest of the year.
The CZ-7A rocket, or Long March-7A, encountered an “abnormality” after taking off at 9.34pm from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Site in Hainan province, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The cause of the problem is unknown. Expert investigation and analysis would follow, Xinhua said, without disclosing more details.
An unverified witness video published on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform showed the rocket suddenly flaring about three minutes after launch, suggesting an explosion during, or soon after, second-stage separation.
CZ-7A is a three-stage, medium-lift, liquid-fuel rocket able to send a payload of 7 tonnes into geostationary orbit. It is expected to play an important role in China’s high orbit missions.
Sixty metres (197 feet) long and weighing 573 tonnes (632 short tons), the rocket is designed mainly for geostationary satellite delivery and can be launched from both the Wenchang site and the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province, its developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, said.