r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Harry_the_space_man • 4d ago

The Chinese Tianlong-3 Rocket Accidentally Launched During A Engine Test Video

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A Chinese Rocket Exploded Today After It Accidentally Launched During A Static Fire Test.

Link: https://x.com/aj_fi/status/1807339807640518690?s=46&t=XQLIlKXE_nRmbO5OFOpZFw

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u/daemoohn2 4d ago

Well… isn’t there some sort of termination sequence that can be sent to the rocket if it goes wild? Based on movies I think US rockets have such feature.

Also… this is cringey to watch in Kerbal Space Program, seeing it IRL makes it even scarier.

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u/SteamedGamer 4d ago

I'm guessing since was supposed to just be an engine test, they hadn't enabled the self-destruct.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/Thue 4d ago

I follow space stuff, and I have never heard of something like this happening during a static fire test before. So while in 20/20 hindsight a termination device would have been smart, I can sorta understand why it didn't have one.

Regulations are written in blood, retroactively.

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u/missilemobil 4d ago

Safety systems are bypassed all the time during testing. But even then there are due process to follow in such cases to ensure shit like this doesn't happen. I can imagine many things were skipped causing this to happen.