India Joins Blue Origin's Human Spaceflight Program

The Space Exploration and Research Agency announced that India will be a partner country in its human spaceflight program with Blue Origin, launching six citizen astronauts from around the world. Additionally, Space Pioneer reported the detachment of its Tianlong-3 rocket's first stage, which crashed in central China without causing casualties.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SERA names India as partner country for Blue Origin space flight

The U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) on Monday announced India as a partner country in its human spaceflight programme, which will see six citizen astronauts from across the world launched into space. The programme, being executed in collaboration with Blue Origin, is meant for people from countries who have sent "few or no astronauts" to space, the agency said.

Space Pioneer says part of rocket crashed in central China

Beijing Tianbing Technology Co said on Sunday that the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket under development had detached from its launch pad during a test due to structural failure and landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China. There were no reports of casualties after an initial investigation, Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, said in a statement on its official WeChat account.