Chinese space rocket accidentally launches before crashing during test

A space rocket owned by a private Chinese company accidentally launched during a test on Sunday, before crash landing into a hillside.

Footage circulating on social media shows the Tianlong-3 rocket falling back to Earth and exploding on a hill in central China’s Henan province. The company responsible for the rocket, Tianbing Technology, explained in a statement that a “structural failure at the connection between the rocket body and the test bench” caused the unintended launch.

According to the statement, the onboard computer automatically shut down, and the rocket “fell into a deep mountain 1.5 km southwest of the test bench.” Fortunately, there were no casualties, as people in the area had been evacuated beforehand.

The Tianlong-3, designed and manufactured in China, was intended to be a reusable rocket. This incident underscores the challenges faced by private space companies and the importance of rigorous testing and safety protocols in advancing space technology. Despite the mishap, Tianbing Technology will likely analyze the failure to prevent similar occurrences in future tests.