The vehicle broke up at low altitude and low velocity over the South China Sea roughly 85 seconds into flight, exploding in a fireball with thick black smoke. Because the failure occurred during the first-stage burn, the payload had no opportunity to separate and was lost with the rocket. Chinese authorities confirmed on August 11, 2026 that an investigation into the anomaly was under way. The significance beyond this single mission is that the YF-100 engine family is shared across several active Chinese launch vehicles, including the Long March 5, 6 and 8 — so a finding implicating the engine would have wider consequences for China's launch schedule.