Space Pioneer’s Falcon 9 Rival Fails on Maiden Flight
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A Tianlong-3 large liquid-propellant launch vehicle is on display at the Space Pioneer booth during the 2025 Shanghai National Defense Science and Technology Industry Equipment and Information Technology Expo in Shanghai on April 12, 2025. Photo: VCG
Chinese commercial space startup Space Pioneer failed in the maiden flight of its Tianlong-3 rocket on April 3 due to an in-flight anomaly.
The setback highlights the technical hurdles facing China’s private space sector as it races to develop large, reusable rockets essential for deploying the country's planned low-Earth orbit satellite mega constellations.
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