Space Pioneer, a leading company in the commercial rocket industry in China specializing in liquid-propellant rockets, recently experienced a significant incident involving its Tianlong-3 rocket.
According to CNN, the mishap occurred when the first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad due to a structural failure. The rocket subsequently landed in a hilly area of Gongyi city in central China.
In a statement, Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, explained that the separation was caused by the failure of the connection between the rocket body and the test platform.
“Due to the structural failure of the connection between the rocket body and the test platform, the first-stage rocket was separated from the launch pad,” the company stated. “After liftoff, the onboard computer was automatically shut down, and the rocket fell into the deep mountains 1.5 kilometres [0.9 miles] southwest of the test platform. The rocket body fell into the mountain and disintegrated.”
Fortunately, there were no injuries reported as the area had been evacuated in advance of the rocket test. This incident follows Space Pioneer’s successful launch of the Tianlong-2 rocket in April 2023, which made it China’s first commercial launch operator to send a liquid carrier rocket into orbit, according to state media.
The Tianlong-3 rocket, which crashed on Sunday, is a large liquid carrier rocket designed to aid in the construction of China’s satellite internet network. Space Pioneer claims that the Tianlong-3’s performance is comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and anticipates launching the rocket over 30 times per year following its first successful flight.
(With ANI inputs)