A Chinese Long March 7A rocket carrying the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite exploded just 85 seconds after liftoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan on Monday night.
Footage showed the rocket erupting into a massive fireball before breaking apart in midair. China’s state news agency Xinhua later confirmed that the rocket experienced an “anomaly during flight” and said an investigation into the cause was underway.
The failed mission marked only the second failure of the Long March 7A, which was scheduled to conduct its 18th mission. The rocket previously failed during its maiden flight in 2020 before successfully launching on its second attempt in March 2021.
The Zhongxing-4B, also known as ChinaSat-4B, was intended to provide radio, television and other communications services to users around the world.
The incident also reportedly led to the postponement of the planned launch of the Zhuque-3, a reusable rocket being developed by Chinese private company LandSpace.
The failure comes as China continues to expand its space programme and compete with the United States in areas including reusable rockets, satellite launches and lunar exploration.
The Long March 7A is a three-stage, expendable rocket measuring about 60 metres long. It is capable of carrying up to seven metric tons of payload into geostationary transfer orbit.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, commenting on the incident, said: “Rockets are insanely hard.”
China has set an ambitious goal of becoming a global leader in space science and technology by 2050.
.jpeg)
.jpeg "Sunayen kofofin aljanna guda takwas 8")
0 Comment about the Post: