Chinese Private Rocket Explodes During Ground Test - No Casualties

 

 

 

A major accident occurred during a ground combustion test of the Tianlong-3 rocket conducted by Space Pioneer, a private rocket development company, at the Gongyi Comprehensive Test Center in Henan Province, China, on June 30.

During the test, the rocket took off and fell to the ground about 50 seconds later, causing a large explosion.

Fortunately, no casualties were reported from this accident.

The company conducted a ground combustion test of the first-stage booster of the Tianlong-3 at the Gongyi Comprehensive Test Center in Henan Province that day.

According to the company, the test was conducted with the first-stage booster fixed to the launch pad.

However, during the test, a malfunction occurred in the device that fixed the booster to the test stand, and the booster took off.

Videos shared on social media show the rocket starting to tilt about 30 seconds after liftoff, emitting black smoke, and then beginning to fall back to the ground.

The rocket eventually collided with the ground about 50 seconds after launch, causing a large explosion.

The Tianlong-3 is a two-stage launch vehicle similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9, with a reusable first stage and using kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel.

This rocket is designed to send up to 17 tons of cargo to low Earth orbit and 14 tons to sun-synchronous orbit.

The Tianlong-3 is 71 meters long, 3.8 meters in diameter, weighs 590 tons at liftoff, and can produce 770 tons of thrust.

Space Pioneer successfully completed the first orbital launch of the smaller Tianlong-2 model in April 2023.

The Tianlong-2 is a three-stage rocket capable of carrying up to 2,000 kg of cargo to low Earth orbit (LEO) and 1,500 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).

The Tianlong-2 uses an 85-ton thrust YF-102 gas generator engine developed with 3D printing technology by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

Regarding this accident, Space Pioneer stated that they are thoroughly investigating the cause and will devise measures to prevent recurrence in the future.

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Chinese Private Rocket Explodes During Ground Test - No Casualties