China a step closer to developing space plane with test flight hailed as symbol of country’s rise as a ‘space superpower’
- Friday’s test of an experimental vessel is a step towards the development of a hypersonic vehicle that could reach any corner of the Earth within an hour
- One day the country hopes to develop a network of reusable transport vessels that would cruise at high speeds at a suborbital level
The vessel was described by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) as laying “a solid foundation for the development of China’s reusable space transport technology between Earth and space” – in other words, laying a foundation for the development of a reusable hypersonic space plane.
The CASC announced its plans to build a reusable space transport system last year. The project would involve building a series of spacecraft that take off and land like regular planes, but can reach any corner of the Earth within an hour by flying at least five times the speed of sound at a suborbital altitude.
A network of these planes would be cheaper to operate than conventional rockets because they are easier to maintain and have a shorter preparation time.
Chinese astronauts carry out country’s second spacewalk
The programme aims to complete the development of the space planes by around 2045, but the first phase of the project involves the development of a rocket-powered vertical take-off landing vehicle.
On Friday the unnamed vessel – which was described as a “reusable suborbital vehicle” – was launched from the Jiuquan launch centre in Gansu province and completed its maiden flight as programmed, and landed safely in an airfield in nearby Inner Mongolia, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“[It] can be used as a substage of a reusable space transport system powered by lift rocket engines, which is an advanced integration of space and aviation technology,” according to CASC, the developer of the vessel and the main contractor for the country’s space programme.
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Chinese astronauts carry out country’s second spacewalk
Xinhua’s report did not provide any other information.
The US military has been working on a similar project with the XS-1 programme, which aimed to develop a reusable space plane that could deliver small satellites into orbit.
But last year the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) said the programme had ended after the contractor Boeing quit.
China’s Zhu Rong rover zooms in on Mars rocks
Last year, China announced that it had successfully tested another space plane that was launched from a rocket and orbited the earth for two days and successfully returned to Earth.
Such technology could be used as a vital weapon in space, because the vessels – essentially a type of hypersonic drone – could be used to attack satellites, space stations or ground targets and be used to intercept ballistic missiles.
