Guangzhou Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. (CASC) designed the Long Arrow IIA-Y6 carrier rocket launch mission failed.
On Friday (December 27), Guangzhou Aerospace Exploration announced that at 9:03 a.m. that day, a private commercial carrier rocket, the Long Arrow IIA-Y6, took off from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Area in Jiuquan, Gansu. However, about 3 seconds after the ignition of the third-stage engine, the rocket lost stability, and the autonomous safety control system on the rocket initiated the self-destruct sequence, confirming the launch failure.
The Long Arrow IIA-Y6 carrier rocket is one of the first rockets designed by CASC to be universal, mission-neutral, and capable of parallel assembly and testing. This rocket for the first time used the so-called independently developed second and third-stage separation reverse thrust small rockets and detonators.
The Long Arrow IIA-Y6 is the last launch mission of China’s aerospace in 2024, named “Taobao 88VIP Exploration”. It was intended to execute a mission launching 11 satellites in one go, but the specific payload has not been disclosed.
China has seen multiple rocket launch failures reported. On the morning of July 11, a private commercial aerospace company, Interstellar Glory, developed the Hyperbola IIA-Y8 carrier rocket carrying 3 Yunyao I meteorological satellites. After ignition at Site 95A of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the rocket experienced abnormal flight, resulting in a failed launch.
This was the first launch of the Hyperbola IIA rocket in 2024, originally planned to deliver the satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit. Prior to this, the Hyperbola IIA had been launched seven times, with this being the fourth failure.
On June 30, the Chinese private aerospace company Space Pioneer conducted a static test of the propulsion system of its new “Tianlong III” carrier rocket. During the analysis of the thruster by researchers, the rocket was supposed to remain on the launch pad, but unexpectedly took off and exploded. The rocket eventually fell into the mountains in Gongyi City, Henan. A villager living 500 meters away reported that all the glass in the nearby village was shattered.