The incident was detected on Sunday in the Henan region of central-eastern China. The accidental launch of a space rocket during a test phase caused a huge explosion in a hilly area near Gongyi, a city with a population of around 800 thousand people. According to local authorities there were no deaths or injuries. However, it is not the first time that explosions have occurred in China near urban areas following space launches.
The cause is the failure of the anchoring systems
Space Pioneer (Beijing Tianbing Technology) was testing the first-stage engines of Tianlong-3, a new rocket designed to be reusable like the systems that the US space company Space X has been using for years. The test involved firing the rocket’s engines and measuring performance while keeping the launch system anchored to the ground. Due to a structural failure, the anchoring systems failed and Tianlong-3 detached from the ground with an uncontrolled ascent of a few hundred meters. After running out of fuel, the rocket fell to the ground without Space Pioneer being able to control it. Tianlong-3 crashed into a hilly area not far from the launch site and the explosion caused a fire in a forest area. The Gongyi Emergency Management Office said the fire was extinguished within hours and that no one was killed or injured.
