A Chinese rocket competing with SpaceX Falcon 9 explodes during testing after being launched accidentally

• China’s Tianping Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd. said it accidentally launched a rocket it was testing.
• Tianlong-3 is designed as a competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with a similar take-off mass and return flight.
• But Sunday’s static engine test sent the rocket hurtling into a mountain.

A Chinese space company said Sunday it accidentally launched its Tianlong-3 rocket during a test, causing the vehicle to hurtle off and crash into a nearby mountainside.

In the current situation, Beijing-based Tianbing Aerospace Technology said it was conducting a test of the rocket’s first stage power system, and that a “structural failure” caused the Tianlong-3 to separate from the launch pad.

If the test had been successful, the Tianlong-3 would have remained stationary on the launch pad while its engines were fired.

Several people in the nearby city of Gongyi in Henan Province. Videos Captured From accidental release.

Show screenshots The missile shoots toward the sky and leaves a trail of black smoke before falling and crashing into the ground in a dramatic fireball explosion.

“The rocket body disintegrated after falling into the mountain,” Tianping said in a statement.

Local authorities He wrote that the explosion caused a local fire far from residential areas, and did not result in any injuries.

Designed to carry satellites into orbit, this is a liquid-fueled rocket, which Tianping described as “comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.”

The Tianlong-3 rocket can lift off with a mass of 590 tons, similar to the Falcon 9’s 605 tons, the China Aerospace Corporation said. Like the Falcon 9, it is also designed for re-flight, and is estimated to be partially reusable for up to 10 flights.

Tianbing, one of several Chinese private space rocket companies that have gained prominence in recent years, in April 2023 launched another reusable rocket – Tianlong-2 – Fueled by coal-based kerosene.

With its nine engines, the Tianlong-3 rocket is now being promoted by Tianping Corporation as a revolutionary rocket for China’s space industry.

“This is the most powerful power system test of any carrier rocket currently under development in the country, and is three times more powerful than any previous test of the largest thrust force in the Chinese space industry,” Tianping wrote.

China opened its space industry to private companies in 2014, sparking a wave of investment in space technology, such as reusable rockets, which SpaceX sees as a key step toward advancing human presence among the stars.

Chinese online reacted to Sunday’s accidental launch, comparing the failure to the initial problems SpaceX experienced when testing and launching its Falcon rockets.

“Musk’s Falcon 9 rocket also had a lot of explosions at the start. If all nine modules of Tianlong 3 are ignited in parallel this time, it can be considered a 70% success.” One blogger wrote on Weibo, the Chinese version of X.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday, came just days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on his country’s science sector to work closely with the state and step up its race against the West’s technology development scene.

“We must strengthen our sense of urgency. We must press ahead with our efforts toward innovation. In order to occupy the peaks of scientific and technological competition and future development,” Xi said Tuesday.