A private Chinese rocket made an unscheduled flight over the weekend.
Beijing-based company Space Pioneer conducted a “static fire” test with the first stage of its new Tianlong-3 rocket on Sunday (June 30) in Gongyi, a city of about 800,000 people in the central Chinese province of Henan.
Space Pioneer briefly turned on the stage engines while the vehicle remained docked on the launch pad. That was how it was supposed to work anyway. But the docking mechanism failed on Sunday, and the rocket took off in a dramatic and frightening surprise mission.
The mission was also brief, ending after just 50 seconds when Tianlong-3 crashed into a mountainous area near Gongyi, creating a huge fireball that some spectators captured on video.
The explosion did not injure anyone, Henan emergency management officials said told the newspapera Shanghai-based media outlet.
Related: China’s space pioneer reaches orbit with launch of Tianlong-2 rocket (video)
Space Pioneer has some spaceflight bona fides: Its Tianlong-2 rocket reached orbit in April 2023, becoming the first Chinese private launch vehicle to do so. Tianlong-3 is considered a significant leap forward for the company; the rocket is modeled after EspaçoXfrom Falcão 9, according to SpaceNewsand, like that rugged vehicle, it’s planned to be partially reusable.
Tianlong-3 will also be considerably more powerful than its older cousin; will be capable of carrying 17 tons of payload to low Earth orbit (LEO), SpaceNews reported, compared to Tianlong-2’s roughly 2-ton limit.
RELATED STORIES:
– China has just launched a rocket with 5 satellites to orbit from a platform at sea
— China plans to take “hacker-proof” quantum satellite technology to new heights
— China continues to develop remote sensing with new launch of Yaogan satellites (video)
Tianlong-3 is still in development and it is unclear at this time how Sunday’s accident will affect the rocket’s test campaign and future timelines.
By the way, “Tianlong” can be translated as “Heavenly Dragon”. The name is similar to China’s space station in LEO, Tiangongwhich means “Heavenly Palace”.
