Setback for China’s SpaceX rival: Tianlong-3 maiden flight fails

According to reports, the Tianlong-3 lifted off from the Jiuquan space center in northern China at 12:17 p.m. China Standard Time. The goal of the mission was a sun-synchronous orbit. Reuters and Golem (a German outlet) both report that although the rocket successfully left the pad, the mission failed and the payload could not be placed into its intended orbit. Space Pioneer has not yet provided any specific details about the payload itself.

From a technical perspective, the Tianlong-3 marks an important development step for Space Pioneer and for China’s private space industry. The first stage is powered by nine TH-12 engines, while the second stage uses a single vacuum-optimized TH-12 engine. According to Golem, the rocket did not yet fly in a reusable configuration during its debut, although the program is clearly geared toward reusability in the long term and according to Reuters, is intended to help China catch up with SpaceX in the commercial launch market.

After around two minutes of flight, there was apparently a problem in the propulsion system. Initial images suggest that an explosion may have occurred in the area of one of the engines. The exact sequence of events has not yet been officially confirmed, but current reports indicate that the flight path deviated from its intended course either near the end of first-stage operation or during the transition to the second stage. Since the second stage relies on only a single engine, it is significantly less fault-tolerant than the first.

A setback, but not the end of the program

Despite the failed maiden flight, the mishap does not mean the end of the program. Especially with new launch vehicles, setbacks during a first flight are generally considered part of the development process. Golem explicitly describes the incident as a technical setback that will also provide the company with valuable data for further analysis and development. For Space Pioneer, this was the first mission of the Tianlong-3 and only the second mission of the entire Tianlong series. The earlier Tianlong-2 successfully reached orbit in 2023 and was seen as a milestone for China’s private space industry.