This is the moment an accidentally fired Chinese rocket soared into the sky before exploding in a huge fireball following its disastrous unplanned takeoff.
The Tianlong-3 rocket, made by spaceflight company Space Pioneer, was seen accidentally taking off from the central Chinese city of Gongyi on Sunday during a test.
The company said the flight occurred “due to a structural failure of the connection between the rocket body and the test platform,” which caused the first stage rocket to leave the launch pad.
Phone images show the rocket, designed to be partially reusable, slowly making its way through the air before its engines fail.
When the engines fail, you can see the ship tilt heavily and then you can see the entire fuselage belching black smoke as it falls sideways to the ground.
The Tianlong-3 rocket, made by spaceflight company Space Pioneer, was seen accidentally lifting off from the central Chinese city of Gongyi on Sunday.
The company explained that the flight occurred “due to a structural failure of the connection between the rocket body and the test platform.”
Phone images show the rocket, designed to be partially reusable, slowly moving through the air before its engines fail.
As it hits the ground outside the city of about 790,000, a deafening explosion can be heard as the area around the impact site is consumed by a fireball.
When it hits the ground on the outskirts of the city of around 790,000 people, a deafening explosion can be heard as the area around the impact site is consumed by a fireball.
A company spokesperson told CNN: “After takeoff, the onboard computer automatically shut down and the rocket fell into the deep mountains 0.9 miles southwest of the test pad. The rocket body fell into the mountain and disintegrated.”
They added that no one was injured in the accident as people in the area were evacuated well in advance of the test.
The Tianlong-3’s maiden flight will take place in just three months and will serve as a low-cost method of delivering payloads into space.
Last month, the company revealed it had raised $207m (£163.7m) in funding, making it one of China’s best-funded commercial space launch companies.
The company is a cornerstone of China’s so-called “eternal dream,” which President Xi Jinping described as a vision of establishing the nation as a dominant space power, amid a new space race with countries like the United States that have stepped up. your own space. exploration programs.
