China’s Long March 7A Rocket Launch Failure

BEIJING — A Long March 7A rocket carrying the ChinaSat-4B satellite experienced a failure after liftoff due to an anomaly during flight. This incident occurred at the Wenchang space launch site on Hainan island on Monday. The launch took place at 8:02 p.m. Beijing time (8 a.m. ET).

According to Xinhua, the state-run news agency of China, the mission was not successful. The cause is currently under investigation. The China National Space Administration has not provided a comment yet.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk remarked on a social media post about the launch failure. He stated that “rockets are insanely hard” and extended his hopes for a “speedy recovery.”

Expert analysis by Jonathan McDowell from Durham University, part of the Center for Space Environmentalism, indicated that the video shows the rocket’s destruction at low altitude and speed, preventing the satellite or debris from reaching orbit.

This failure marks the first unsuccessful attempt for the Long March 7A since its debut in March 2020, which also ended in failure due to an in-flight malfunction. However, the rocket had achieved over a dozen successful flights since its return to service a year later.

An initial report by China National Radio, which was later removed from Baidu, identified the satellite as Zhongxing-4B, or ChinaSat-4B, launched by the modified Long March 7 rocket, also called Long March 7A.

ChinaSat-4B was anticipated to join the same series as ChinaSat-4A, a satellite launched in 2024. ChinaSat-4A provides voice, data, radio, and television services across extensive regions, and it’s unclear if ChinaSat-4B was to serve a similar purpose.

The Long March 7A, a medium-lift rocket, is designed for missions to high orbit. Investigations will reveal if the failure stems from issues specific to the Long March 7A or if broader checks are necessary for shared components, manufacturing, or operations.

Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting, termed the incident as “not a great development” for Long March 7A, but he assessed that the damage is likely limited. The rocket typically deploys communications satellites into high orbit rather than large satellite clusters in low Earth orbit, so the failure should not significantly affect future launches.

Meanwhile, preparations continue at Wenchang for the Chang’e-7 lunar mission. Official plans target a launch in the second half of 2026, though launch observers suggest it could be as soon as late this month. The Chang’e-7 mission will explore the Moon’s south pole using the Long March 5 rocket, which differs from the Long March 7A. Curcio anticipates no major impact on the Chang’e-7 schedule due to the recent failure.