BEIJING – Beijing-based rocket developer Space Pioneer said on Friday (April 4) that the maiden flight of its reusable rocket Tianlong-3 failed, highlighting the challenge China's rocket developers face in catching up to Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology Co, offered few details about what went wrong, disclosing the failure only in a brief statement posted on its official WeChat account.