Drone captures Chinese rocket exploding while attempting to make vertical landing

A video showing a rocket exploding while trying to attempt a vertical landing in China has taken the internet by storm. A space startup in China was trying to attempt a vertical landing of its prototype rocket in a test, but an anomaly at the very last moment led it to crash on the landing pad.

A drone captured footage of the test flight, showing in detail the launch and the disastrous landing.

Deep Blue Aerospace launched its Nebula-1 rocket on its first high-altitude recovery test flight on Sunday. The rocket was supposed to later land back at the Ejin Banner Spaceport in Inner Mongolia.

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The video shows the rocket lifting off to about five kilometres above the ground. However, the landing didn't go as planned. In a statement, the company declared the test mission as “not completely successful".

The company explained that the rocket misjudged its landing altitude and the engine shut down prematurely. It continued to stay in a vertical position and slammed into the landing site.

A cinematic, two-minute video shows awe-inspiring views as the rocket takes off. However, Nebula-1 soon hit the landing pad, erupting in flames. The entire video is visually stunning and even the explosion will cause your jaw to drop.

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"There are a total of 11 major test verification tasks. In this flight test, 10 of them were successfully completed and 1 was not completed," Deep Blue Aerospace wrote in its statement.

The video brings back memories of SpaceX performing similar tests to check the reusability of its rockets. Elon Musk, CEO of the private space company, had termed the explosions also as a win. Notably, Falcon 9 produced by SpaceX is a reusable, two-stage rocket.

Chinese private rocket companies

Nebula-1 is 11 feet wide, only slightly smaller than the Falcon 9 rocket which stands tall at 12 feet in diameter. The rocket has been made with the aim to carry 2,000 kilogrammes of weight to low Earth orbit. An upscale version should be able to lift 8,000 kilograms.

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 rocket can carry about 25 metric tonnes to low Earth orbit. The Falcon Heavy rocket has a payload capacity of around 64 metric tonnes.

The Chinese government recently allowed investments to flow into spaceflight companies. Deep Blue Aerospace is one of several Chinese rocket startups aiming to emulate SpaceX in the field of reusable rockets. Chinese startup Landscape has already taken a step in this direction and, earlier this year, conducted its first flight test of a reusable first stage prototype.