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Beijing Tianbing Technology Co. said that the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket under development had detached from its launch pad during a test due to a structural failure and landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China.
Tianlong-3 rocket
The two-stage Tianlong-3 (Sky Dragon 3) is a medium-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by the Chinese private aerospace manufacturer Space Pioneer.
It is designed to be partially reusable, with the first stage capable of performing an autonomous vertical landing and being reused up to 10 times.
It aims to provide launch services for medium-sized payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO) and sun-synchronous orbit (SSO)
A rocket can consist of several stages, with the first, or lowest, stage igniting and propelling the rocket upwards upon its launch.
When the fuel is exhausted, the first stage falls off, and the second stage ignites, keeping the rocket in propulsion.
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