The incident occurred shortly after liftoff, when the rocket encountered severe weather during its ascent. Although the lightning appeared to strike the vehicle directly, no technical issues were reported, and the mission achieved its objective without disruption.
What the viral videos and images showVideos and images circulating on social media capture the moment a bright bolt of lightning appears to strike the ascending rocket. The electrical discharge can be seen travelling along the length of the launch vehicle before continuing down the rocket’s exhaust plume towards the ground, creating a striking visual.
The footage shows the rocket continuing its climb without any visible loss of control or interruption to its flight.
Xichang Space Launch Center in ????????
A powerful electrical discharge struck the Chinese Long March-3B rocket during its ascent. According to ???????? reports, the lightning did not damage the equipment on the spacecraft& the mission to launch the Tianlian-2-06 satellite was successful. pic.twitter.com/31laAgkNsJ— Vijesti (@Vijesti11111) July 24, 2026
What is the Tianlian II-06 satellite?
China launched the Tianlian II-06 data relay satellite aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province on Thursday.
The satellite is designed to provide data relay, telemetry, tracking and command services for China’s crewed spacecraft, space station, and medium- and low-Earth orbit satellites.
It will also support future spacecraft launches. The mission marked the 658th flight of China’s Long March rocket series.
Not the first rocket to be struck by lightning
The incident has drawn comparisons with NASA’s Apollo 12 mission, which was struck by lightning twice shortly after launch on 14 November 1969. Apollo 12 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
The Saturn V rocket carrying astronauts Charles “Pete” Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard “Dick” Gordon was struck by lightning about 36.5 seconds after liftoff and again roughly 52 seconds into flight.
“As a result, many temporary effects were noted in both the launch vehicle and spacecraft. Some permanent effects were noted in the spacecraft and involved the loss of nine non-essential instrumentation sensors,” a NASA paper summarising the incident states.
The mission was saved after flight controller John Aaron instructed the crew to switch the Signal Conditioning Electronics (SCE) system to its auxiliary setting. Apollo 12 went on to complete its lunar mission successfully, with the crew landing on the Moon and returning safely to Earth.
China’s recent reusable rocket milestone
The successful launch comes just weeks after China achieved another milestone in its space programme. Earlier this month, the country carried out its first successful controlled recovery of a rocket during an orbital launch. During the maiden flight of the Long March 10B, the rocket’s first stage settled into a net-like recovery system carried by a ship at sea.
(Edited by : Vivek Dubey)
First Published: Jul 24, 2026 12:06 PM IS
