China's new heavy-lift rocket launch fails in flight

The Long March-5 Y2 rocket takes off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan Province, China July 2, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s launch of a new heavy-lift rocket, the Long March-5 Y2, carrying what the government said was its heaviest ever satellite, failed on Sunday, official news agency Xinhua said.
The same rocket type had been expected to take China’s latest lunar probe to the Moon this year and to return with samples. It is not cl