According to Space Pioneer, the launch was not planned and the rocket became separated from its launch pad during the engine test due to a “structural failure” in the junction between the rocket hull and the test bench. After liftoff, an onboard computer automatically shut the engines down and the rocket fell into the mountains some 1.5 kilometers away from the test site, the company wrote in a post on the Chinese social network WeChat.
NEW: Chinese rocket which was developed to rival Musk’s Space X, crashes into a mountain side.
The Tianlong-3 rocket accidentally lifted off during a static fire test according to The Telegraph.
After launching into the air, the rocket was seen falling back to Earth, exploding… pic.twitter.com/cGmPP2l2l7
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 30, 2024
The Tianlong-3 rocket accidentally lifted off during a static fire test according to The Telegraph.
After launching into the air, the rocket was seen falling back to Earth, exploding into the mountainside near the city of Gongyi in Henan Province.
The rocket was owned by private Chinese business Space Pioneer.
Space Pioneer claims a “structural failure” of the launch moorings which were supposed to hold the rocket in place resulted in the accidental launch.
Reports say there are no casualties at this moment.
According to the Chinese media, the Tianlong-3 is a liquid-fueled carrier rocket designed to put satellites into orbit. It will reportedly have the most powerful engines developed in China. It is expected to be able to carry a payload of 17 tons into low Earth orbit, or 14-tons into Sun-synchronous orbit. Chinese media have compared it to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.