the essential
Development of the Chinese equivalent of Elon Musk’s Falcon 9 has slowed considerably. This Sunday, June 30, an error during a test launch of a rocket turned into a tragedy.
The Chinese company Space Pioneer carried out a static test launch this Sunday, June 30, in the city of Gongyi, located in the province of Henin. Unfortunately, an error caused the rocket to take off, flying into the air before exploding in full ascent. The competitor company of Space-X explained in a press release that the accident had not caused any casualties. An amateur video posted on X (formerly Twitter) testifies to the violence of this accident.
In China, the private company Space Pioneer botches its static firing test. The Tianlong-3 rocket should never have taken off. It falls back into free fall near Gongyi in Henan province. “Officially”, there are no injuries in the explosion. pic.twitter.com/GJWzC4te5M
— Yann Rousseau (@yannsan) https://twitter.com/yannsan/status/1807615571590250546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to her, the takeoff was due to “poor attachment and too much thrust from the second stage engines.” This error would therefore have forced the spacecraft’s on-board computer to automatically shut down the engines. A static test firing is a simulation of all the steps preceding takeoff: the rocket was not supposed to leave its launch pad.
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A hard blow for the Chinese company
The Tianlong-3, often compared to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon-9, was scheduled for launch this fall. Space Pioneer, the company behind the project, recently secured an additional $270 million in funding. A major setback that is expected to significantly slow the Chinese company’s project.
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Remember that in 2023, the Tianlong-2 became the first rocket to reach Earth’s orbit on its first attempt.
