Chinese Long March 7A rocket explodes after launch

A Chinese Long March 7A rocket exploded into a massive fireball seconds after launch, destroying a communications satellite it was intended to take to orbit, a new report has said.

The mid-air explosion marked a “relatively rare failure for a rocket considered a workhorse of Beijing’s space program,” the report from CNN said, adding that an investigation is underway into the reason for the failure.

The report showed a video of the launch



from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan island on Monday night that showed the rocket breaking apart nearly 85 seconds after liftoff.

“Unlike other successful launches, the incident appears to have been downplayed on China’s state media with scant mention of the explosion,” the media house said.

State  news agency confirmed the failure three hours after the explosion, saying the rocket “experienced an anomaly during flight”.