Chinese rocket carrying satellite explodes seconds after launch

A Chinese Long March 7A rocket, carrying the ChinaSat-4B communications satellite, experienced an in-flight anomaly and exploded shortly after liftoff on Monday, August 10, 2026. The incident occurred less than 90 seconds into the flight, around 8:02 PM Beijing time, from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan island. Both the rocket and its payload were lost over the South China Sea.

State news agency Xinhua confirmed the launch failure approximately three hours after the event, reporting that the rocket encountered an "anomaly during flight" and that the mission was unsuccessful. The specific cause of the failure is currently under investigation.

This marks a rare setback for China's space program and the Long March 7A rocket, which had a previous failure during its maiden flight in March 2020 but had since completed numerous successful missions.