Chinese SpaceX Competitor Watches Its Rocket Fail For Second Time
i-Space recently conducted a launch of its Hyperbola-1 rocket, but unfortunately, the launch ended up being a complete failure. i-Space is a private space exploration company based in Beijing and is often seen as a competitor to other private entities like SpaceX and Blue Origin. In the past few years, these private space agencies have become instrumental in space exploration as a whole. SpaceX recently secured a $178 million contract from NASA to explore Europa, Blue Origin helped launch the oldest and youngest people ever into space, and foreign companies like i-Space are hoping to achieve similar levels of success.
For i-Space, however, getting to that point has been an uphill battle. One of the flagship rockets for the company is Hyperbola-1. Hyperbola-1's first launch in July 2019 was a success, but when i-Space tried launching an upgraded version in February 2021, the mission failed. Hyperbola-1 lost control almost immediately after liftoff, with i-Space chalking it up to foam insulation that got stuck in its grid fins.
i-Space held its third launch for Hyperbola-1 on August 3 with hopes of turning things around. Unfortunately for the company, it ended up being another failure. The failed launch was officially confirmed by Chinese news network Xinhua and further reported on by NASASpaceFlight. While there's no video of the launch itself, Twitter user Launch Stuff shared a video that shows Hyperbola-1's shakey trajectory across the bright blue sky.
Digging a bit deeper into why i-Space hit another wall, it's currently unclear what exactly happened. Xinhua's report of the incident is quite short, simply saying, "Abnormal performance was identified during the flight of the rocket, which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 3:39 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Tuesday." It's confirmed that Hyperbola-1 did not enter orbit, but no other details are shared.
While not confirmed by i-Space, there are additional reports that offer a more detailed explanation. One such report indicates that the payload fairing didn't separate when it was supposed to, while another claims the third stage of the launch "underperformed." There's also speculation as to whether both of these things contributed to the unsuccessful launch. As NasaSpaceFlight explains, "the payload would not be able to offset this lack of performance with its own Reaction Control System (RCS) if fairing separation did not occur."
Another failed launch certainly doesn't mean it's the end of i-Space, but it does put pressure on the company to tighten things up and ensure its next launch goes according to plan. The private space industry is only heating up as time goes on. If i-Space keeps encountering launches like this one, it'll become increasingly difficult for the company to stand out from others that are more successful.
Source: Xinhua, NASASpaceFlight