Photo: Visual China Group
A rocket under development by Beijing Tianbing Technology Co, also known as Space Pioneer, accidentally launched and crashed near the city of Gongyi in central China on Sunday (June 30). The first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket detached from its launch pad during a test due to a structural failure, causing it to land in a hilly area.
Footage of the incident showed the rocket soaring upwards before losing power, turning horizontally, and falling back to earth. The crash resulted in an explosion and a local fire, which has since been extinguished. Initial investigations reported no casualties.
Parts of the rocket were scattered within a designated "safe area." The Tianlong-3, or 'Sky Dragon 3', is a partly reusable rocket that is still under development by Space Pioneer. The company has been rapidly growing over the past five years, along with a small group of private-sector rocket makers.
This incident is unusual as it is rare for a rocket under development to make an unplanned flight out of its test site and crash. Space Pioneer's test center is located in Gongyi, a city of 800,000 people in the central province of Henan.