On Friday, China carried out a key flight test of its reusable suborbital spaceplane, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's leading space contractor.

The State-owned company said in a news release that the spaceplane started its own propulsion system and then conducted a vertical liftoff from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert on Friday morning.

After completing a preplanned suborbital flight, the craft made a conventional landing on the runway at the Alxa Right Banner Airport in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the release said, noting that the test marked the first flight by a used suborbital spaceplane in China.

Incorporating both aviation and space technology, the spacecraft was designed and constructed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing and was unveiled in July last year when it performed its first takeoff from the Jiuquan center and flew back to the Alxa Right Banner Airport.

After the debut mission, the vehicle underwent a host of examinations and maintenance work, according to the company.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp has been progressing steadily in its reusable vehicle project.

By now, the company has flight-tested two reusable experimental spacecrafts from the Jiuquan center. Earlier this month, the second of such crafts was launched and seems to still be flying in orbit.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, another space contractor, is also working on a reusable spaceplane and plans to put it to commercial flight by 2030.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
China Aerospace Science and Technology
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

103rd successful rocket launch breaks record
Beijing, China (SPX) Aug 23, 2022
The Long March carrier rocket family, China's backbone launch vehicle fleet, has set a new record for successful consecutive launches after a Long March 2D launch over the weekend, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the country's leading space contractor. The rocket blasted off at 1:37 am Saturday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province and later placed a series of Yaogan 35-04 satellites, the fourth group of spacecraft in the Yaogan 35 remote-sensin ... read more