New Delhi: China's attempt to launch its latest heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March-5 Y2, on Sunday evening failed following an abnormality in the flight, a major blow to the country's ambitious space missions.


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China's largest rocket, carrying an experimental communication satellite, blasted off at 7.23 p.m. from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern province of Hainan.


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


“Anomaly was detected during its flight and further investigation will be carried out,” Xinhua tweeted.



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.


The launches of Long March-5 have been scheduled in preparation for China's lunar probe, manned space station and Mars probe missions, Xinhua added.


(With IANS inputs)