The Long March rockets are Beijing’s workhorses.
The Chinese Space Program had a less-than-stellar night yesterday (10), when its most reliable rocket exploded for the second time since 2020.
In the space race with the United States, Beijing has relied on the Long March rockets to carry the brunt of the effort.
But on Monday, the launch of a rocket carrying a communications satellite failed, and the rocket exploded right after lift-off.
Associated Press reported:
“The ChinaSat 4B satellite aboard a Long March 7A rocket was launched from the country’s southern island of Hainan, which is home to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, part of China’s space program. The ChinaSat 4B is a comms satellite.
‘The rocket experienced an anomaly during the flight and the launch mission failed’, the Xinhua news agency said.”
China’s Long March rocket launching an important military/civilian dual use satellite exploded during its launch from Hainan as curious kids were watching. A bad day for their scientists. Better luck next time. pic.twitter.com/RTVvcfpzGH
— Aravind (@aravind) August 10, 2026
The failed launch was the first with a Long March 7A since its maiden flight in March 2020.
“China has launched hundreds of missions using Long March carrier rockets delivering internet and communication satellites into a pre-set orbit.”
A Chinese rocket exploded in a massive fireball shortly after launch, with eyewitness video capturing the dramatic failure in real time.
The Long March 7A rocket was carrying a communications satellite when officials said it encountered a problem during flight.
The mission was… pic.twitter.com/WH9WbvYFkC
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 11, 2026
Space.com reported:
“Video reposted to social media captured the shock of onlookers the moment that the rocket burst into flames. Based on such views, the mission will almost certainly be deemed a complete failure, with total loss of vehicle and payload.
Today’s launch was the 18th Long March 7A mission since the rocket’s debut in 2020, which, subsequently, also ended with the vehicle’s explosion. China traced that mishap to an engine malfunction that occurred shortly after first-stage separation. This morning’s launch, however, didn’t get that far.”
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