A Long March 7A rocket lifts off from Wenchang, Nov. 30, 2025, carrying the Shijian-28 satellite. Credit: CASC
HELSINKI — China appears to have lost an unknown payload after a Long March 7A rocket exploded less than 90 seconds into flight, according to amateur footage.
The Long March 7A lifted off at around 8:00 a.m. Eastern (1200 UTC) August 10 from Wenchang, Hainan island, as indicated in advance by airspace closure notices. Amateur footage from the launch near the coastal spaceport and restreamed via Youtube shows an explosion around 85 seconds into the flight.
Chinese authorities had yet to report the incident as of time of reporting. It is unknown if the explosion was caused by an anomaly or a triggering of the flight termination system.
State broadcaster China National Radio (CNR) published a brief report of the expected mission around liftoff, naming the payload as Zhongxing-4B. Low numbered Zhongxing satellites are thought to be satellites for military communications.
