China startup’s kerosene-powered rocket fails test flight

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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Deep Blue Aerospace said on Sunday its first-of-its-kind reusable kerosene-fuelled rocket, Nebula-1, failed to complete a high-altitude vertical recovery test flight in the country’s northern region of Inner Mongolia, crashing at the final stage.

The private rocket startup’s spacecraft completed 10 of its 11 tasks, the company said in a statement, with its three thrusters igniting as usual and launching the Nebula-1 high into the sky. Two of its engines then disengaged, as planned, and the rocket began its descent.

But as the Nebula-1 was re-approaching its launch pad, its landing system failed and it touched down too hard, resulting in the rocket’s top portion snapping off as it fell to its side and fire damage to its exterior, pictures of the test showed.

Investors and rocket developers have said alternative fuels such as kerosene, methane and liquid oxygen could help slash costs and enable rockets to be launched in a cleaner and more efficient way.

Several private Chinese rocket startups have tested various spacecraft over the past year, aiming to prepare their products for the increasing demand in China’s expanding commercial space industry, amid growing competition to form a constellation of satellites as an alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)