Beijing Tianbing Technology announced that the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad during a test due to structural failure and landed in a hilly area of Gongyi, China. There were no casualties reported, but the debris caused a local fire which has since been extinguished. The Tianlong-3 rocket is being developed by Space Pioneer, a private rocket maker, and is partly reusable. This incident is rare as it is not common for rockets under development to make unplanned flights and crash.
The Tianlong-3 rocket is a two-stage rocket, with the first stage igniting during launch and falling off when the fuel is exhausted, while the second stage continues to propel the rocket. Space Pioneer claims that the performance of Tianlong-3 is comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. In April 2023, Space Pioneer became the first private Chinese firm to send a liquid-propellant rocket, the Tianlong-2, into space.
Since 2014, Chinese commercial space companies have been rapidly growing, with many focusing on developing reusable rockets to reduce mission costs. Test sites for these companies are typically located by the sea for safety reasons, but Space Pioneer’s test center in Gongyi, Henan Province, is located inland. Falling rocket debris in China after launches is not uncommon, but incidents like this one, where a rocket under development detaches from its launch pad, are very rare.
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