BEIJING: A Chinese rocket carrying a communications satellite failed in its launch, state media said, attributing the failure to a “flight anomaly” as reports and videos suggested the spacecraft had exploded in mid-air.
Beijing has ploughed billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years to achieve what President Xi Jinping calls the country’s “space dream”.
Monday’s rare launch failure involved a Long March 7A carrier rocket, which lifted off from
the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s southernmost province of Hainan at 8:02 pm, state news agency Xinhua said.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026
