Tianlong-3

First stage

The first stage of the Tianlong-3 is equipped with 9 Tianhuo-12 (TH-12) liquid oxygen/kerosene engines. Each engine has a vacuum thrust of 1,350 kN, a vacuum specific impulse of 335 s, a sea-level thrust of 1,090 kN, a sea-level specific impulse of 285 s, a throttling range of 40%~110%, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 163. The engines utilize a gas generator cycle and feature pump-fed gimbaling.^[2][4]

The first stage propellant tanks have a diameter of 3.8 meters^[4] and use the same triangular grid-stiffened shell structure as the 3.35-meter-diameter tanks of the Tianlong-2 first stage.^{[citation needed]}

Second stage

The second stage of the Tianlong-3 is equipped with a single vacuum-optimized version of the Tianhuo-12 engine, designated as TH-12V.^[4]

Payload fairing

The standard payload fairing of the Tianlong-3 has a diameter of 4.2 m, a height of 12 m, and can accommodate payloads with a diameter of up to 3.8 m and a height of up to 10 m. An enhanced version of the fairing, with a diameter of 5.2 m and a height of 14 m, is also available.^[4]

Orbital insertion accuracy

The Tianlong-3 is designed to achieve high orbital insertion accuracy, with a semi-major axis deviation of ≤ 5 km, an orbital inclination deviation of ≤ 0.07°, an eccentricity deviation of ≤ 0.003, an attitude angle deviation of ≤ 0.5°, and an attitude angular velocity deviation of ≤ 0.5°/s.^[5]

Tianhuo-12 engine

On July 24, 2023, the Tianhuo-12 (TH-12) engine, designed for the Tianlong-3 rocket, successfully completed a full-duration hot fire test. The test utilized an engine in the flight configuration of the first Tianlong-3 rocket and was conducted at rated conditions for a single burn duration of 100 seconds, accumulating a total test duration of 200 seconds. This test demonstrated that the engine met the flight requirements for the Tianlong-3 rocket.^[6]

In early January 2024, the TH-12 engine completed a calibration hot fire test for the first flight batch. The test, conducted using an engine in the flight configuration of the first Tianlong-3 rocket, subjected the engine to a 50-second process verification test at rated conditions. During the test, the engine demonstrated rapid startup, smooth operation, and normal shutdown.^[7]

Later in January 2024, the TH-12 engine underwent a spot check hot fire test for the first flight batch, fully simulating the flight conditions of the inaugural Tianlong-3 launch. The test involved 6 consecutive ignitions of the engine without removal from the test stand, accumulating a total test duration exceeding 1,000 seconds. Notably, the single engine operating time during the test surpassed the planned flight duration by a factor of 6.^[8]

Accidental launch during static fire test

On June 30, 2024, a Tianlong-3 first stage detached from its stand during a static fire test due to a structural failure, resulting in an unintentional liftoff.^[9][10] The errant stage crashed and exploded in the mountains 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) southwest of the test stand at the Gongyi Engine Test Facility, and no casualties were reported.^[11] The test stand was 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the centre of Gongyi, a city of 800.000 inhabitants, and less than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) from a smaller village.^[12]

A patent issued in 2023 for the test stand, previously used for Tianlong-2, describes a maximum load-bearing capacity of 600 tonnes-force (5.9 MN; 1,300,000 lbf).^[13]: 9 Space Pioneer stated that the nine-engine first stage had reached a thrust of 820 tonnes-force (8.0 MN; 1,800,000 lbf) prior to failure with 200 tonnes (440,000 lb) of fuel remaining, suggesting the partially-fueled first stage's net thrust may have exceeded the test stand's designed capacity.^[10][14][15]

Maiden flight

The booster completed a successful static fire test on September 15, 2025.^[17]

The maiden flight of the Tianlong-3 rocket launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on April 3, 2026, but suffered an anomaly shortly after takeoff.^[18] Although the first stage of the rocket is designed for reusability, it was not planned to be recovered during this inaugural launch.^[19]

List of launches