BEIJING — The Long March 7A rocket, launched from the Wenchang space center on Hainan Island, experienced a failure after lift-off. The rocket was carrying the ChinaSat-4B satellite. The launch took place on Monday at 8:02 p.m. Beijing time (8 a.m. ET). According to Xinhua, China’s state news agency, the mission was unsuccessful, and the cause of the anomaly is under investigation.
China’s National Space Administration did not release an immediate comment on the situation. SpaceX’s founder, Elon Musk, remarked online about the incident, stating, “rockets are insanely hard,” while expressing hope for a quick recovery.
Jonathan McDowell, a professor at Durham University, noted that video footage showed the rocket was destroyed at a low altitude and speed. This suggests that neither the satellite nor its debris reached orbit.
This event marked the first failure of the Long March 7A since its inaugural flight in March 2020, which also ended in an anomaly. Since then, the rocket successfully completed over a dozen missions until this incident. Reports later identified the payload as Zhongxing-4B, another name for ChinaSat-4B, on a modified Long March 7A rocket.
The ChinaSat-4B satellite belongs to the same series as ChinaSat-4A, launched in 2024, which provides voice, data, radio, and TV transmission services. These satellites cover broad regions, including remote areas that lack terrestrial network access. It’s unclear if ChinaSat-4B had similar functions.
The Long March 7A is intended for high-orbit missions. A thorough investigation will determine whether this issue was specific to this rocket or indicates deeper concerns with shared components or procedures.
Blaine Curcio, of Orbital Gateway Consulting, called it not a positive event for the Long March 7A program. Yet he suggested the damage could be limited. The rocket’s usage primarily focuses on deploying high orbit communications satellites, meaning launch schedules might not significantly change.
Meanwhile, China is preparing for the Chang’e-7 lunar mission, set for the latter half of 2026. The mission will explore the Moon’s south pole, and plans include the use of a Long March 5 rocket. This differs from the Long March 7A, and Curcio does not foresee any delay in Chang’e-7’s schedule due to this failure.