China’s Long March 7A rocket explodes after launch, satellite lost

China has suffered a rare failure of one of its newer-generation Long March rockets, losing a communications satellite after the launcher exploded shortly after take-off on Monday night.Around 8pm Beijing time, the unmanned 60-metre (197-foot) Long March 7A blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the southern island of Hainan, piercing the night sky as it carried the ChinaSat-4B satellite towards high Earth orbit.But less than 90 seconds into the flight, the rocket erupted into a fireball engulfed in thick black smoke, according to videos posted on social media by spectators near the launch site.