On Cam: Chinese Rocket Crash-Lands After Accidental Launch During Ground Test

A rocket crash-landed in a hilly area of Gongyi city in central China after the first stage of its under-development Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad during a test due to structural failure.

Gongyi residents posted footage on Chinese social media showing the rocket climbing into the sky, leaving a trail of thick smoke before falling back to the ground on its side. The crash of the kerosene-liquid oxygen-propelled rocket ignited a huge explosion, the South China Morning Post reported.

There were no reports of casualties after an initial investigation, Beijing Tianbing Technology Co, also known as Space Pioneer, said in a statement. Parts of the rocket stage were scattered within a “safe area” but caused a local fire, according to a separate statement by the Gongyi emergency management bureau.

The fire has since been extinguished and no one has been hurt, the bureau said. The two-stage Tianlong-3 is a partly reusable rocket under development by Space Pioneer, one of a small group of private-sector rocket makers that have grown rapidly over the past five years.

According to Space Pioneer, the first stage of the Tianlong-3 ignited normally during a hot test but later detached from the test bench due to structural failure and landed in hilly areas 1.5 km away. A rocket can consist of several stages, with the first, or lowest, stage igniting and propelling the rocket upwards upon its launch. When the fuel is exhausted, the first stage falls off, and the second stage ignites, keeping the rocket in propulsion. Some rockets have third stages.

In April last year, Space Pioneer launched a kerosene-oxygen rocket, the Tianlong-2, becoming the first private Chinese firm to send a liquid-propellant rocket into space. Many started making satellites while others including Space Pioneer, focused on developing reusable rockets that can significantly cut mission costs.

(With agency inputs)