Chinese rocket fails on its debut flight

Monitoring Desk

BEIJING: A new Chinese medium-lift rocket, part of a family of launch vehicles meant to support most of China’s launch missions in future, has failed on its debut flight, the official news agency Xinhua reports.

The Long March 7A, a variant of the Long March 7, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre, in the southern island province of Hainan, on Monday morning.

But it later suffered a malfunction, the cause of which was being investigated, Xinhua said.

With its specifications and capabilities, the rocket, known as the LM-7A, is well-placed to become China’s main rocket for communication satellite missions, potentially replacing older rockets in the LM-2, LM-3 and LM-4 range.

The LM-7 family is also expected to be central to the construction of China’s space station, due for completion in 2022.

Courtesy: (Reuters)