Three workers were injured, and nearby residents reported hearing a loud explosion and feeling their windows shake when the startup company LandSpace in Shanghai tested a rocket engine on the evening of January 30.
This startup made headlines last year by beating SpaceX to launch the world’s first methane-fueled engine, Zhuque-2, into orbit. LandSpace stated that there was nothing unusual about the test conducted last night.
A company representative told local media that the test “caused some windows to shatter and left 3 employees with minor injuries”. Both the company and local authorities confirmed that no explosion had occurred.
Inside the workshop of rocket technology company LandSpace. (Photo: Weibo)
Many residents living on Yushu Street, near the testing site in Songjiang District, quickly took to social media to share their experiences.
“The windows shook violently, followed by the sound of fire trucks in the street”, one person wrote. “It felt like an earthquake or an extremely loud thunder”, another shared.
A video posted on Weibo showed male workers bandaged on their heads and arms in the central hospital of Chongjiang.
A LandSpace representative insisted that the test was controlled and that no abnormalities occurred during the process. “The fuel tank ruptured at a pressure of 0.65 million pascals as expected”, the company representative said.
According to local media, the test took place at an outdoor facility rented by LandSpace, located within the grounds of the Shanghai Institute of Precision Mechanics and Control for Aerospace, also known as Institute 800.
This institute is part of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the main contractor for China’s space program.
LandSpace’s breakthrough liquid oxygen-methane engine can deliver 4-6 tons of payload to low Earth orbit. This engine is considered highly competitive due to its use of methane gas, a clean and readily available fuel.
