By IANS,
Beijing : A Chinese satellite failed to enter its designated orbit due to a rocket malfunction, a media report said Friday.
The SJ-11-04 orbiter was launched at 5.28 p.m. Thursday by the Long March II-C rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China’s Gansu province.
The rocket experienced problems during flight after it was launched, the China Daily reported. An unnamed military observer said the malfunction stopped the rocket from entering a planned altitude.
“We don’t know when the problem occurred, so it will be hard to find out the cause,” the observer said, adding the orbiter may land in China’s territory if the malfunction happened at the primary period of the launch and may drop into the Pacific Ocean if the malfunction happened late.”
It is the first time the Long March II-C rocket failed a mission, the Beijing News said. The exact cause of the failure is being analyzed.