Launch of China's commercial carrier rocket fails

Beijing, Feb 1 (IANS) The launch of the second SQX-1 commercial carrier rocket, developed by a Chinese private space company, scheduled on Monday was unsuccessful.Abnormal performance was identified during the flight of the rocket, which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 4:15 p.m. (Beijing Time), reports Xinhua news agency.The cause of the failure is under investigation, the launch center said in a statement.In December last year, China launched a new remote sensing satellite which will be used for scientific experiments.The satellite, Yaogan-33, was launched aboard a Long March-4C rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It was the 357th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.The mission also sent a micro and nano technology experiment satellite into orbit.
--IANS na/