A Long March 7A rocket carrying the ChinaSat-4B communications satellite broke apart over the South China Sea on Monday, about 90 seconds after lifting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan. China's state media confirmed the launch failed following an in-flight anomaly; video of the launch showed the vehicle exploding as it climbed southeast over the sea.

The mission was intended to place ChinaSat-4B — the newest satellite in the ChinaSat fleet, meant to provide radio, television and communication services to global users — into geostationary orbit. It is the second failure for the Long March 7A, whose only previous loss came in March 2020, and the second geostationary-dedicated launch vehicle failure for China this year after a Long March 3B/E mishap in January.

Because the anomaly occurred during the joint burn of the first stage and its four boosters, attention has turned to the YF-100 engine, a workhorse used across much of the modern Long March family, including the Long March 5. That rocket is scheduled to launch the Chang'e 7 lunar south pole mission in about two weeks, giving China's space program an urgent reason to pin down the cause. The Long March 7A will be grounded until the investigation concludes; Monday's flight was the 662nd Long March launch overall and China's 56th launch attempt of 2026.

Sources