Chinese Long March-7A Rocket Explodes During Satellite Launch

A Long March-7A rocket exploded approximately 90 seconds into flight on Monday evening during an attempt to deploy the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite. The launch occurred at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern China. No personnel were onboard the vehicle at the time of the failure.

The Xinhua News Agency confirmed the loss of the mission and stated that the cause of the explosion is currently under investigation. This incident represents the second failure for the Long March rocket family in 2026, following a Long March 3B failure in January.

The failure creates uncertainty for the upcoming Chang’e-7 moon mission. Scheduled to launch in the coming weeks, the moon mission relies on a Long March 5 rocket, which shares hardware components with the failed 7A variant.