Tianlong-3, China's SpaceX Rival, Fails on Maiden Launch

The maiden launch of China’s Tianlong-3 heavy-lift carrier rocket, touted as a rival to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, ended in failure, according to Chinese media reports on Friday (3/4). The rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre at 12.17 local time (04.17 GMT/11:17 WIB) on 3 April, but encountered technical problems during flight and was ultimately declared a failure, the Cailian news portal reported. The Tianlong-3 carrier rocket is China’s first liquid-fuelled rocket developed by the private company Space Pioneer, with the capability to carry more than 20 tonnes to low Earth orbit. Its performance is said to be comparable to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, and it can place up to 36 satellites into orbit in a single launch. This two-stage rocket is approximately 233 feet (about 71 metres) long and 12.4 feet (about 3.8 metres) wide, with a liftoff weight of 590 tonnes. It can carry 17 to 22 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 10 to 17 tonnes to sun-synchronous orbit, according to the report. The first stage of the rocket is equipped with nine Tianhuo-12 liquid-fuel engines and can be reused up to 10 times. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, owned by US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, is currently the most widely used reusable launch vehicle. The US company Blue Origin has also successfully recovered its rocket’s first stage. In addition, several other Chinese companies have successfully tested first-stage rocket landing technology.