China's attempt to launch its most powerful privately developed rocket, the Tianlong-3, ended in failure due to a flight anomaly. The launch was aimed at competing with SpaceX's Starlink internet satellite megaconstellations.

China’s attempt to launch its most powerful privately developed rocket failed on Friday after the vehicle suffered a flight anomaly. The Tianlong-3 rocket is being developed in hopes of breaking a key bottleneck in the country’s roll-out of internet satellite megaconstellations to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. The Tianlong-3, built by Beijing-based start-up Space Pioneer and seen as China’s answer to the US company’s workhorse reusable Falcon 9, lifted off from the Jiuquan satellite launch...