The rocket was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, in southern Hainan province of China. Photos from the scene show a large crowd gathered with tents in the distance, waiting to see the construction.
The rocket was carrying a Shiyan-9 satellite to test new technologies such as space environment exploration, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
CASC built the experimental satellite in just eight months, setting a record for medium to large-scale remote sensing satellites, the space contractor told the government.
The Long March 7A is a three-stage rocket with four boosters, measuring 197 feet (60.1 meters) in length and 11 feet (3.35 meters) in diameter. It has the capacity to send seven metric tons of payload into a geostationary orbit (GTO) – about 22,000 miles (35,405 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.
The rocket is specifically designed to launch satellites to GTO, with the potential to be upgraded to Moon, Mars and future asteroid exploration, according to CASC.
China’s first attempt to launch the Long March 7A, in March 2020, failed at the Wenchang Space launch site. At the time, Chinese officials said engineers would investigate the cause of the failure, without providing further details.
China plans to launch three to five Long March 7A rockets annually by 2025, according to CASC.
China has an ambitious space program, driven by billions of dollars in government investment. In the past few months, the country has launched lunar and Mars missions.
In July 2020, China launched its first unmanned mission to Mars – the Tianwen-1 probe, which entered the orbit of the red planet in February this year. And in December 2020, Chang’e’s mission of Chinese workers brought lunar samples back to Earth – making it the only third country to collect rocks from the moon.
CNN’s Yong Xiong contributed to this report.