Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft
Chinese reusable spacecraft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft (Chinese: 可重复使用试验航天器; pinyin: Kěchóngfùshǐyòng shìyàn hángtiānqì) is the first reusable spacecraft produced by China. It embarked upon its initial orbital mission on 4 September 2020.[2][3][4][5] According to media reports, the spacecraft is launched into Earth orbit in a vertical configuration while enclosed within the payload fairings of a rocket like a traditional satellite, but it returns to Earth via autonomous runway landing. In the absence of any official descriptions of the spacecraft or photographic depictions thereof, some observers have speculated that the spacecraft may resemble the X-37B spaceplane of the United States in both form and function.[6][7]
| Spacecraft properties | |
|---|---|
| Spacecraft type | Reusable spacecraft |
| Start of mission | |
| Rocket | Long March 2F |
| Launch site | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center |
| End of mission | |
| Landing site | Lop Nur, Runway 05 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Periapsis altitude | 332 km (206 mi) |
| Apoapsis altitude | 348 km (216 mi) |
| Inclination | 50.2° |
| Period | 90.0 minutes (?) |
Operational history
The state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported in 2017 that China planned to launch a reusable spacecraft in 2020 designed to "fly into the sky like an aircraft".[1]
Mission 1
The spacecraft's first mission began on 4 September 2020 at 07:30 UTC when it was launched into low earth orbit via a Long March-2F/T3 carrier rocket; the launch occurred at China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in the Gobi Desert. According to the Xinhua News Agency, "(a)fter a period of in-orbit operation, the spacecraft will return to the scheduled landing site in China. It will test reusable technologies during its flight, providing technological support for the peaceful use of space".[6]
For launching payloads like the spaceplane, the Long March 2F/G needs four cusps added to its fairing to accommodate the payload (as seen post-launch), which led to speculation that the spacecraft resembles the US' Boeing X37-B.[8][9][10]
Unofficial reports indicate that the spacecraft is part of the Shenlong spaceplane, which is claimed to be similar to the Boeing X-37B.[11]
On 6 September 2020, two days after the launch, the spacecraft successfully returned to the Earth.[12][7] According to observers Marco Langbroek and Jonathan McDowell, the spacecraft's landing site was an airbase located at Lop Nur, China.[4]
On 7 September 2020, commercial satellite reconnaissance company Planet Labs published a satellite photo of a 3.1-mile (5.0 km) runway at Lop Nur, taken shortly after the landing of the spaceplane.[13] Astronomer Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics speculated that one of the dots visible on the image of the runway was the Chinese spaceplane.[13]
On 8 September 2020, Spaceflight Now reported that US analysts had detected the launch at 7:30 GMT on the fourth of September and that the craft's orbital axes were 332 kilometres (206 mi) by 348 kilometres (216 mi), and inclined by 50.2 degrees with respect to the equator.[1]
Mission 2
On 4 August 2022 at around 16:00 UTC, the spacecraft was launched for a second time,[14] again on top of a Long March 2F rocket.[15] The spacecraft was observed to have raised its orbit on 25 August 2022 to a near-circular 597 by 608-kilometre orbit.[16] While aloft it deployed at least one object that may have been a small satellite or monitoring craft. On 8 May 2023, the spacecraft returned to Earth after 276 days in orbit.[17]
Mission 3
On 14 December 2023 at around 14:12 UTC, the spacecraft was launched for a third time, again on top of a Long March 2F rocket.[18] It has released at least seven objects into orbit.[19] On 6 September 2024, 01:10 UTC, the spacecraft returned to Earth after 266 days and 10 hours in orbit.[20]
The spaceplane was photographed in orbit, from the ground, by an amateur space photographer.[19][21][22]
Mission 4
The reusable spaceplane was launched for the fourth time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near 3:57 UTC on 7 February 2026.[23]
List of missions
| Flight | Launch (UTC) | Landing (UTC) | Launcher | Duration | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September 2020, 07:30 | 6 September 2020 | Long March 2F/T | 2 days |
|
Success |
| 2 | 4 August 2022, 16:00 | 8 May 2023 | Long March 2F/T | 276 days |
|
Success |
| 3 | 14 December 2023, ~14:12 | 6 September 2024, 01:10 | Long March 2F/T | 266 days |
|
Success |
| 4 | 7 February 2026, ~03:57 | Long March 2F/T | 118 days (in progress) | In progress |
Specifications
The only information available about the program is the photos taken from the ground by an amateur in late July 2024,[19][21][22] revealing structures similar to solar panels or antennas. The payload fairings used, having been photographed after their fall to the ground, showed extensions that could house wings and help constrain the size and wingspan of the craft.[8][9][10][24]
Without a clear link being established between these two projects, in 2020, Chen Hongbo, of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor for China's space agency, said during a 2017 interview that China's space plane would be able to be re-used up to 20 times.[1][25] Chen said the vehicle's first stage would use a scramjet engine.[26]
See also
- Boeing X-37 – American reusable spacecraft
- Shenlong
