In the intensifying race to dominate the next frontier, the space economy, China's gap with the US may have widened after one of Beijing's new-generation Long March rockets exploded shortly after launch earlier today. This is great news for America's commercial and national-security space ambitions.
The South China Morning Post reports that the 60-meter rocket, which launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island late Monday, erupted into a fireball less than 90 seconds into the flight.
SCMP noted:
Space observers suggested a major anomaly may have triggered the rocket's flight-termination system, destroying the vehicle. Both the rocket and satellite were lost over the South China Sea.
State news agency Xinhua confirmed the failure about three hours after the launch, saying the rocket had experienced an "anomaly during flight" and that the mission had failed. It said the cause was under investigation.
Here's the footage:
China recently landed the first-stage booster of its Long March 10B rocket on a floating barge for the first time, a major milestone for Beijing. But SpaceX accomplished the same feat a decade ago, highlighting just how much catching up China still has to do.
SpaceX dominated global rocket launches during the first quarter, extending America's lead in the space economy while outperforming not only rival companies but also entire nation-states.
