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China's Long March 7A Rocket Explodes Shortly After Wenchang Launch

China's Long March 7A rocket exploded shortly after launching from Wenchang, Hainan, on 10 August 2026, as the country presses ahead with plans for a crewed Moon landing by 2030 and a Mars mission beyond it.

Step by step

  1. 1

    First rocket launched (1960)

  2. 2

    Crewed spaceflight achieved (2003)

  3. 3

    First spacewalk completed (2008)

  4. 4

    Space station completed (2022)

  5. 5

    Crewed Moon landing planned (2030)

China's Long March 7A rocket exploded in midair shortly after lifting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan island on 10 August 2026, Chinese state media confirmed, turning into a fireball minutes into its ascent. The uncrewed rocket had lifted off around 8pm local time as crowds gathered on nearby beaches to watch.

Rocket launches from the site were once highly classified and confined to remote deserts, but they have increasingly opened to public viewing as China's space ambitions accelerate in a race with the United States.

China's space program has advanced through a series of milestones since launching its first rocket in 1960: crewed spaceflight in 2003, its first spacewalk in 2008, and a completed space station by 2022. Its lunar program has since delivered the world's first landing on the Moon's far side and a sample-return mission.

China's plans include a crewed Moon landing by 2030, to be followed by a crewed mission to Mars.

The story so far

  1. China's Solar Boom Is Squeezing Out Birds, International Study Finds
  2. China's New Double-Helix Tower Turns Bird-Watching Into a Climb Through an Escher-Like Staircase
  3. A Decade of China's Robot Games Tracks the Rise of Its Humanoid Robotics Industry
  4. Chinese-Developed Drugs Are Increasingly Reaching International Markets, Study Finds
  5. AI-Designed Immune Receptors Help Chinese Scientists Speed Up Crop Disease Resistance
  6. China Unveils 'Xianglong,' a Machine That Both Bores and Blasts Through Rock
  7. China's Long March 7A Rocket Explodes Shortly After Wenchang Launch
#China#Long March 7A#Wenchang#space launch#Moon mission
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