Surprise Chinese lunar mission hit by launch anomaly A pair of Chinese spacecraft, apparently intended for lunar orbit, have potentially been lost following an issue with a Long March rocket's upper stage on Wednesday.
  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
    143·
    6 months ago

    Well for one, lunar missions are usually the result of a LOT of planning and preparation, so it coming as a surprise is itself quite the anomaly 😛

  • FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io
    103·
    6 months ago

    That sucks, but lunar missions aren’t exactly something you should just be pulling out of your ass. Glad nobody was hurt though!

    • Pennomi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      25·
      6 months ago

      The anomaly may not have a great impact on China’s wider launch plans, as the rocket’s first and second stage performed nominally, and the issue isolated to the infrequently-used YZ-1S upper stage.

      Unlikely sabotage, it’s probably just a lesser tested component of the stack failing. Space is really hard.