Long March 7A explodes early into flight
China suffered a shock loss of a Long March 7A rocket and its ChinaSat-4B (Zhongxing-4B) communications satellite payload shortly after launch from Wenchang Aug. 10.
The ramifications of the loss could have been huge. The failure occurred during the combined first stage and side booster burn phase, meaning that, if the YF-100 engine system was at fault for the loss, the effects would cascade to impact the Long March 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 series, which use either the YF-100 or uprated versions.
Most immediately, this could have delayed the launch of the Chang’e-7 lunar south pole mission scheduled for Aug. 24. The Tiangong space station relies on the standard Long March 7 for LEO for resupply, launching Tianzhou cargo spacecraft.
However, outside analyses suggest a structural anomaly higher up the rocket, leading to a triggering of the flight termination system. Additionally, the standard Long March 12, which uses YF-100K engines, has since been scheduled for launch Aug. 16 from Hainan, according to airspace closure notices, and a NOTAM remains in effect for the Chang’e-7 mission. The indications are thus, at present, that the knockon effects of the failure will be relatively contained. It will, however, hit China’s plans for GEO and potentially MEO in the near term, given the increasing role of the rocket. The event also highlights China’s reliance on the reliability of the YF-100 series of engines and its centrality to the country’s space objectives.
The Long March 7A is one of China’s new-gen kerolox rockets, designed mainly for launches to GEO, along with the venerable hyperbolic Long March 3B. Its launch cadence had been growing, with this being the eighth flight since late November 2025. It was its 18th flight, and the first setback since the similarly catastrophic failure of the debut flight back in March 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Funding and IPO moves
Orienspace and iSpace announced major funding rounds in early August, with both also making early IPO moves — reinforcing the trend of major capital inflow into China’s commercial sector and a growing number of space companies headed for initial public offerings.
iSpace has now raised two nine-figure-plus rounds this year, even as the debut of its Hyperbola-3 reusable methalox rocket has slipped to Q4 2026. Orienspace is likewise aiming to get its Gravity-2 liquid propellant rocket launch ready by the end of the year.
The pair are looking to catch up to Landspace, Space Pioneer and CAS Space, which have all debuted new, potentially reusable launch vehicles within the last nine months, while Galactic Energy is close to launch of its first Pallas-1 rocket. Competition and financial backing are apparently strong, increasing the odds that, however things develop, China will see at least a few winners emerge from its commercial reusable rocket race.
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