Chinese Space Plane
Chinese authorities announced its first successful landing of a Chinese Space Plane on September 6, 2020.[1][2] The space vehicle was launched, from Juiquan, on September 4, 2020, on a Long March 2F rocket.[3][4] Reuters reported that China had first announced plans to launch a reusable spaceplane by 2020, in 2017.
Operations
First flight
On September 7, 2020, commercial satellite reconnaissance company Planet Labs published a satellite photo of a 3.1 mi (4.99 km) runway at a secretive air base in Lop Nur, taken shortly after the landing of the spaceplane.[5] Jonathon McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, speculated that one of the dots visible on the runway is the Chinese spaceplane. He said that US had tracked the spaceplane. He speculated that the spaceplane was more likely to be similar to the United States Air Force's X-37B than NASA space shuttles.[1]
On September 8, 2020, Space Flight Now reported American officials had detected the launch at 7:30 GMT, that the craft's orbit's axes were 332 km (206.3 mi) and 348 km (216.24 mi), and its orbit was titled 50.2 degrees to the equator.[4]
Second flight
The vehicle's second launch was on August 8, 2022.[6] Commentators speculated on the length of this mission, when it flew over the Lop Nur base in Xinjiang, the site where the first mission landed, without landing. US satellite tracking officials report they are tracking seven objects associated with this launch. They suspect four of them are debris, while two of them may be observation platforms, tracking the performance of the vehicle with external cameras.
Chinese officials placed some launch debris at a college in Jiyuan City, Henan Province, stirring questions, as technology reporters who viewed the debris thought it included a "loading crank" similar to the one used to separate an eight ton component of its Chinese space station from it launch vehicle.[6]
Specifications
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.[4][7] Chen said the vehicle's first stage would use a scramjet engine.[8]
On March 24, 2020, officials said the vehicle was designed to carry a crew of six.[9] Its takeoff weight would be 21.6 tonnes, and it would be 8.8 m (28.87 ft) long.[9]
Speculation over the spaceplane's role
When asked to speculate on the spaceplane's role Brian Weedon, director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation said, "It's a great question. We're not even really sure why the U.S. military is pursuing a space plane."[5]
McDowell speculated that the very high speeds the spaceplane underwent during re-entry might help the Chinese in their development of hypersonic missiles.[5] He added the Chinese may have thought, "If the Americans have one of those, there's got to be a good reason for it, so we better get one too."
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Reusable Chinese Spacecraft Lands Successfully: State Media, The New York Times, 2020-09-06. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “Chinese social media has been rife with speculation over the spacecraft, which some commentators compared to the U.S. Air Force's X-37B, an autonomous spaceplane made by Boeing that can remain in orbit for long periods of time before flying back to Earth on its own.”
- ↑ China's reusable experimental spacecraft back to landing site, Xinhuanet, 2020-09-06. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “The successful flight marked the country's important breakthrough in reusable spacecraft research and is expected to offer convenient and low-cost round trip transport for the peaceful use of the space.”
- ↑ China launches reusable experimental spacecraft, Xinhuanet, 2020-09-04. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “After 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.”
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Stephen Clark. China tests experimental reusable spacecraft shrouded in mystery, Space Flight Now, 2020-09-08. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “The spacecraft took off on top of a Long March 2F rocket Friday from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi Desert of northwestern China, according to a statement from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., or CASC, the state-owned company that oversees China’s space industry.”
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Geoff Brumfiel. New Chinese Space Plane Landed At Mysterious Air Base, Evidence Suggests, National Public Radio, 2020-09-07. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “The photo, which is too low resolution to be conclusive, was snapped by the San Francisco-based company Planet. It shows what could be the classified Chinese spacecraft on a long runway, along with several support vehicles lined up nearby.”
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lisa Jennings. China’s spacecraft is still in orbit, but information is emerging from recovered launch debris, Bolly Inside, 2022-08-20. Retrieved on 2022-08-22.
- ↑ China's reusable launch vehicle expected to debut in 2020, China Daily, 2017-10-31. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “The reusable launch vehicle can carry large payloads into orbit, return to the earth and be reused many times, said Chen Hongbo, director of the research and development center at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology at CASC.”
- ↑ P.W. Singer. China could become a major space power by 2050: Plans include launches, robotic moon bases, and interplanetary manned missions., Popular Science magazine, 2017-12-18. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “The China Academy of Launch Technology (a CASC subsidiary) research and development Director Chen Hongbo told the official Xinhua News Agency that the two-stage spaceplane would be rocket-powered at first, and will be able to fly off a runway at hypersonic speeds to near space.”
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 1st LD-Writethru: China's experimental manned spaceship undergoes tests, Xinhuanet, 2020-03-24. Retrieved on 2020-09-19. “With a length of 8.8 meters and a takeoff weight of 21.6 tonnes, the spaceship will be able to carry six astronauts. It is designed for safety and reliability, and can adapt to multiple tasks.”