This is the horrifying moment a 22-ton Chinese rocket 'loses control' and plummets back down to earth just moments after its launch.

As the One Space Tech rocket roared into the sky leaving a spray of smoke in its wake, mesmerised onlookers gasped in awe.

But as its steep ascent from Chongqing's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into orbit started to slow and the craft began to tumble through the sky, their reaction turned in to sheer horror.

The two-minute clip filmed by a startled spectator shows a sparse stretch of northern China's Gobi Desert

The two-minute clip filmed by a startled spectator shows a sparse stretch of northern China's Gobi Desert.

Then, on the horizon, there is a faint white light before the rocket bursts off the ground and up in to the air, shooting out a jet of smoke.

To the wows of the gathered crowd, the rocket hurtles up quickly and soon disappears from view and can only be tracked by the long smoke trail it creates.

After only a minute, this trail suddenly seems to cut out for a split second before the plume starts again.

But something is clearly wrong and the rocket seems to wobble through the sky before diving back down to earth.

The rocket hurtles up quickly and soon disappears from view and can only be tracked by the long smoke trail it creates

After only a minute, this trail suddenly seems to cut out for a split second before the plume starts again

Panicked voices can be heard and the video pans out to a group of alarmed onlookers whose eyes are fixed in horror at the falling rocket.

The footage then cuts to a final shot of the sky which shows the remains of the spacecraft's smoke stream - it shoots high into the air before faltering and snaking down towards the ground.

The vehicle was attempting to orbit a small technology demonstration satellite before it 'lost control', according to Quartz.

It reports that a spokesperson for One Space said it is still investigating the reason for the failed launch.

Standing at 60 feet tall and weighing 22 tons, the OS-M rocket is capable of reaching speeds of 5.7 times the speed of sound.

But something is clearly wrong and the rocket seems to wobble through the sky before diving back down to earth