China suffers 2 failed rocket launches in 12 hours

China's state-owned space agency and a Beijing-based space company have launched investigations after suffering two failed rocket launches just 12 hours apart on Jan. 17.

First launch

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the first rocket, a Long March 3B, was launched at 12:55am on Jan. 17 from Sichuan, China.

It experienced an anomaly during the third stage of the launch, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said in a notice on WeChat.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is China's state-owned space agency.

"The exact cause is under investigation," the corporation said.

The rocket was carrying the Shijian-32 satellite, whose mission and purpose are classified, Space News wrote.

The failed launch on Jan. 17 marked the end of a streak of 296 successful launches for the Long March rockets, according to China Daily.

Its last failure occurred in April 2020.

Second launch

12 hours later, at about 12:08pm local time, the Ceres-2 rocket made by Beijing-based space company Galactic Energy took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

This was the Ceres-2's maiden launch.

However, the rocket failed after suffering an anomaly mid-flight, Xinhua Net reported.

In a statement, the company apologised to all parties involved in the mission, vowed to identify the causes and make rectifications, Global Times wrote.

The Ceres-2 is a launch vehicle designed to carry loads into orbit.

According to Space News, China saw only two failures out of 92 orbital launch attempts in 2025.

Top image via Lianhe Zaobao