China's failed attempt to

launch

one of the world's most

powerful rockets

China has announced the launch of a powerful
rocket
designed
to carry communication satellites into orbit had been
'unsuccessful',
in a glitch for the country's ambitious space
programme

China attempted to launch a Long March-5 Y2 rocket from
Hainan on Sunday
The take-off appeared to be fine, but China said an anomaly
was soon detected

China has announced the launch of a powerful rocket designed to

carry communication satellites into orbit has been 'unsuccessful', in

a glitch for the country's ambitious space programme.

The Long March-5 Y2, Beijing's second heavy-lift rocket, blasted off

at 7:23 pm (11:23 GMT) on Sunday.

But shortly after taking off, the rocket malfunctioned - although

details on what caused the issue remain unclear.

Important projects including moon exploration and space construction

could be delayed as a result of this weekend's failed attempt.

China has announced the launch of a powerful rocket designed to carry communication satellites into orbit had been 'unsuccessful', in a glitch for the country's ambitious space programme

The rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the tropical island province of Hainan.

'Abnormity was detected during the flight of the rocket,' the Xinhua news agency reported.

'Further investigation will be carried out,' the report added, without giving any further details.

Capable of carrying up to 25 tonnes, the Long March-5 Y2 had taken off with the Shijian-18 experimental communications satellite (7.5 tonnes), which it was supposed to put into orbit.

China successfully launched the Long March-5 from the same Wenchang centre in November 2016, which it said at the time was the most powerful launcher it had yet developed.

China successfully launched the Long March-5 from the same Wenchang centre in November 2016, which it said at the time was the most powerful launcher it had yet developed

Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rise and of the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

Last month it successfully launched the Long March-4B, its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.

And in April, the country's first cargo spacecraft completed its docking with an orbiting space lab - a key development toward China's goal of having its own crewed space station by 2022.