1 of 2 | A Long March-7A carrier rocket carrying the ChinaSat 3B satellite blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, Hainan Province, China, 20 May 2025. Photo by Zhang Liyun / XINHUA / EPA
Aug. 11 (Asia Today) — China and Japan produced sharply contrasting results in their space programs this week, with a Chinese Long March 7A rocket failing Monday and Japan successfully launching an H3 rocket carrying a navigation satellite Tuesday.
China generally holds an advantage over Japan in the scale and record of its space program after decades of sustained national investment that has produced a series of major achievements.
The results on Monday and Tuesday, however, went in Japan’s favor.
China launched a modified Long March 7 rocket carrying the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite at about 8:02 p.m. Monday from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province.
The launch failed after the rocket developed an abnormality during flight and could not complete its mission.
Chinese space specialists and officials at Wenchang are investigating the cause.
The failure was particularly notable because it was the first unsuccessful launch of a Long March 7A since the medium-lift rocket’s inaugural flight in March 2020.
The rocket was developed primarily for missions to higher orbits.
Liang Yongchang, a doctoral student at Beihang University in Beijing, said investigators could discover problems involving common components, manufacturing procedures or launch-site operations.
If such problems are found, other planned launches could also require additional inspections, he said.
Japan recorded a successful mission one day later.
At 4:23 a.m. Tuesday, Japan launched the ninth H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu.
The rocket carried Michibiki No. 7, part of Japan’s satellite navigation system.
The H3 is Japan’s next-generation main launch vehicle and is intended to carry key national satellites into orbit.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the successful flight helped the program recover from a launch failure late last year that resulted in the loss of another satellite.
Japan is working to establish a seven-satellite Michibiki constellation capable of providing independent high-precision positioning services without relying solely on foreign systems.
China, meanwhile, is preparing at Wenchang for the launch of Chang’e 7, its next unmanned lunar exploration mission.
Chinese space officials are expected to scrutinize the Long March failure as they prepare for future missions.
Japan is also expected to continue working toward its seven-satellite positioning constellation.
The back-to-back results do not overturn China’s broader lead in many areas of space activity, but they highlight the increasingly visible competition between the two Asian powers in launch vehicles, satellites and advanced aerospace technology.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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