China rocket launch fails after liftoff

The launch of China's latest heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March-5 Y2, was announced unsuccessful on Sunday evening.

An anomaly occurred during the flight of the rocket, which blasted off at 7.23 p.m. from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern province of Hainan, Xinhua news agency reported.

But 40 minutes later, Xinhua flashed a headline declaring the launch a failure -- without providing any details.

Dubbed "Chubby 5" for its huge size -- five metres in diameter and 57 metres tall -- the LM-5 rocket is designed to carry up to 25 tonnes of payload into low orbit, more than doubling the country's previous lift capability.

The Long March-5 made its maiden flight in November 2016 from Wenchang.

The rocket uses environmentally friendly fuel, including kerosene, liquid hydrogen, and liquid oxygen, rather than highly-toxic propellants.

--IANS

soni/mr