Second Launch of China’s Long March 5 Fails
The second launch of China’s Long March 5 rocket (Y2) failed today. A short statement by China’s Xinhua news agency said only that an abnormality was detected and an investigation is underway.
The Long March 5 launch took place from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island at 7:23 pm local time (7:23 am Eastern Daylight Time), just after sunset. The launch was televised live and appeared to go well initially (at 53:55 on the video).
The Long March 5 rocket was intended to place the Shijian-18 (SJ-18) experimental communications satellite into geostationary orbit. China also characterized it as a final test of the new rocket before November’s scheduled launch of the Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission. A postponement of that launch would not be surprising considering today’s failure.
Xinhua’s statement said the launch was “unsuccessful. Abnormity [sic] was detected during the flight of the rocket … Further investigation will be carried out.”
The first launch of Long March 5 took place on November 3, 2016 and successfully placed the SJ-17 experimental communications satellite into geostationary orbit.
Successful launch of the first Long March 5 on November 3, 2016. Photo credit: China Xinhua News (@XHNews)
China has big plans for Long March 5, including launches of robotic spacecraft to the Moon and Mars and a modular space station in low Earth orbit.
Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available.
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