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China just launched a ‘reusable test spacecraft’ — possibly a spaceplane

Sep 4, 2020

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/4/21422741/china-reusable-spacecraft-spaceplane-long-march-2f-rocket-launch

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China Launches Its First Space Laboratory Module Tiangong-1

A Chinese Long March 2F rocket launching a space station back in 2011. The same vehicle was used to launch a reusable spacecraft on August 4th. | Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Early this morning, China launched some kind of reusable spacecraft into space — possibly a spaceplane — a mysterious vehicle that is drawing comparisons to the US’s classified X-37B spaceplane currently in orbit around Earth. Similar to the X-37B, China’s spaceplane will remain in orbit “for a period of time” but the country claims that the vehicle is meant to further the “peaceful use of space.”

It’s unclear exactly what the spacecraft looks like, as there aren’t any official renders or photos of the vehicle. However, rumors popped up earlier this year that a spaceplane mission might be happening sometime in 2020, according to Andrew Jones, a freelance reporter specializing in China’s space program. He notes that a spaceplane launch...

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A Chinese Long March 2F rocket launching a space station back in 2011. The same vehicle was used to launch a reusable spacecraft on August 4th. | Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

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