China’s Space Missions Falter as Two Rocket Launches Suffer Setbacks on the Same Day | WPN World People News

China’s space launch efforts suffered consecutive setbacks in recent days, as two rocket missions failed to achieve their intended objectives within a single day—an uncommon occurrence involving both a government-led satellite launch and the inaugural test flight of a new commercial rocket.

According to information released by Chinese state media, at 12:55 a.m. local time on January 17, China conducted a high-orbit mission from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center using a Long March-3B launch vehicle to carry the Shijian-32 satellite. However, an abnormal condition occurred during flight, forcing the mission to be terminated prematurely. Authorities stated that the cause of the incident is still under investigation.

Later the same day, at 12:08 p.m. local time, Chinese private space company Galactic Energy carried out the maiden flight verification of its Ceres-2 launch vehicle at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. After liftoff, the rocket failed to maintain normal flight conditions, and the inaugural test ended in failure, marking the second launch anomaly of the day.

Notably, just one day prior to this new rocket test, Galactic Energy’s operational Ceres-1 sea-launch variant had successfully completed a mission, placing multiple communications satellites into their designated low Earth orbit. This contrast highlights a clear gap in technical maturity and reliability between established launch systems and next-generation vehicles.

The rare occurrence of two unsuccessful launch attempts within a single day underscores the significant risks and uncertainties that accompany China’s accelerated push to increase launch frequency and expand its commercial space capabilities, particularly during the research and development phase.