Space Pioneer's Tianlong-3 rocket somehow escaped its restraints during a static fire test on Sunday.
Chinese company Space Pioneer accidentally launched the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket during a Sunday test of the vehicle that went terribly wrong. The rocket crashed and exploded near a city in Central China, but no injuries have been reported so far. Footage shared on social media showed the rocket’s first stage emerging from a massive cloud and taking to the skies before losing momentum as its engines shut down. It then falls to the ground, producing a large fireball.
The company has claimed that the performance of Tianlong-3 is comparable to that of SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with the Chinese rocket capable of carrying 590 tons to orbit, while SpaceX’s two-stage reusable rocket can carry 605 tons. One of China’s leading space companies, Space Pioneer made history in April 2023 as the first commercial firm to successfully reach orbit on its first attempt with the Tianlong-2 rocket.
SPACEX Reusable Launch Vehicle Space Launch Vehicles TH-12 Space Pioneer Tianlong-3 I-Space Spaceflight Gizmodo
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