A Chinese firm's answer to SpaceX's Falcon 9 blew up in a giant fireball after it accidentally launched during a test

Mon, 07/01/2024 - 00:00

A Long March-4C rocket carrying the satellite Shiyan-23 blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 12, 2024. On June 30, Chinese private space firm Tianbing Aerospace Technology said its Tianlong-3 rocket accidentally launched during an engine test.
Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via Getty Images

Chinese space firm Tianbing Aerospace Technology said it accidentally launched a rocket it was testing.
The Tianlong-3 is designed as a rival to SpaceX's Falcon 9, with a similar takeoff mass and reflight.
But a stationary engine test on Sunday saw the rocket lift off and crash into a mountain.

A Chinese space firm said on Sunday that it accidentally launched its Tianlong-3 rocket during a test, causing the vehicle to lift off and crash into a nearby mountainside.