Lightning strike on Chinese rocket captured in epic launch photo

A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Tianlian II-06 satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on July 23, 2026 in Xichang, Sichuan Province of China. (Image credit: Zhou Quan/VCG via Getty Images)Lightning struck a Chinese rocket shortly after liftoff this week, as seen in incredible video and photographs.A Long March-3B rocket lifted off from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Thursday (July 23) carrying a communications relay satellite destined for geostation