Dramatic Footage: Chinese Long March-7A Rocket Explodes Shortly After Liftoff
In the intensifying race to dominate the next frontier, the space economy, China's gap with the US may have widened after one of Beijing's new-generation Long March rockets exploded shortly after launch earlier today. This is great news for America's commercial and national-security space ambitions.
The South China Morning Post reports that the 60-meter rocket, which launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island late Monday, erupted into a fireball less than 90 seconds into the flight.
SCMP noted:
Space observers suggested a major anomaly may have triggered the rocket's flight-termination system, destroying the vehicle. Both the rocket and satellite were lost over the South China Sea.
State news agency Xinhua confirmed the failure about three hours after the launch, saying the rocket had experienced an "anomaly during flight" and that the mission had failed. It said the cause was under investigation.
Here's the footage:
The Long March 7A suffered its second launch failure a few hours ago when it explosively concluded its mission from Wenchang, reportedly carrying ChinaSat-4B
β Phazzee πΌπ | δΈε½θͺ倩 π¨π³ | π΅πΈπ³οΈββ§οΈπ³οΈβπ (@PhazzeeYeehaw) August 10, 2026
Details -> https://t.co/Xo15oGQU1q pic.twitter.com/x0WAcXZz1J
Seems like not engine problem
β CNSPACE (@CNSpaceflight) August 10, 2026
Long March 7A https://t.co/skDmfhFKS7 pic.twitter.com/2gfjhJoCe0
China recently landed the first-stage booster of its Long March 10B rocket on a floating barge for the first time, a major milestone for Beijing. But SpaceX accomplished the same feat a decade ago, highlighting just how much catching up China still has to do.
SpaceX dominated global rocket launches during the first quarter, extending America's lead in the space economy while outperforming not only rival companies but also entire nation-states.
