Apr. 5 at 8:02 PM
China’s private space company Space Pioneer announced the failure of the inaugural launch of its reusable Tianlong-3 rocket, highlighting the technological gap between Chinese firms and SpaceX in reusable rocket development.
The Beijing-based company, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, offered few details, revealing the setback only in a brief WeChat statement. The Tianlong-3, designed to rival SpaceX’s Falcon 9, is capable of putting up to 36 satellites into orbit per launch, aligning with China’s ambitions to build large satellite constellations and reduce SpaceX’s dominance in low Earth orbit.
Space Pioneer has raised significant funding—about
$363 million six months ago—and benefits from government support, reflecting Beijing’s push to turn China into a leading space power. However, this failure follows earlier problems, including a 2024 incident in which a rocket stage detached during testing due to structural issues.
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