China’s mysterious reusable spaceplane has landed after nine months in Earth orbit.
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua praised the 276-day flight as a “success” and “major breakthrough”.
The spaceplane was launched in August 2022 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.
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Chinas mysterious reusable spaceplane landed in Earth orbit on Monday after 276 days.
The nine-month mission was the longest for the new spaceplane to date. Loud Andrew Jonesa journalist based on China’s space program specialized, it had only previously flown into orbit once for two days.
Though the recent flight was long, China’s statements about the spaceplane were brief and didn’t include details about the flight’s objectives, the spacecraft’s specifications, or the maneuvers it would perform in orbit performed.
“Major breakthrough” in China’s research
“The success of the experiment represents an important breakthrough in China’s research into reusable spacecraft technologies, which will provide more convenient and affordable methods for peaceful uses of space in the future,” they said Chinese state news agency Xinhua in a short message on Monday.
The spaceplane’s manufacturer, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) spread the Xinhua report on the social media platform Weixin further.
Xinhua reported that the “experimental” spacecraft landed at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. However, orbital tracking data and satellite imagery suggest the landing was made at the Lop Nur military base in neighboring Xinjiang province to the west, Jones reported.
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Reusable spaceplanes are nothing new. NASA’s space shuttles are perhaps the best-known example. Recently flew the billionaire Richard Branson aboard a Virgin Galactic spaceplane in den Orbit.
In the absence of photos or details from China, several news outlets have impliedthat the Chinese spaceplane could be similar to the X-37B spaceplane developed by Boeing for the US military.
This plane has already flown six times, with the longest mission lasting nearly three years to test new hardware and conduct NASA experiments.
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The Chinese spaceplane took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in August 2022 and mysteriously ejected something into orbit in October, like Space.com reported.
Overall, over the past decade, China has expanded its space presence with a number of The Moon Missiona dedicated space station in Earth orbit and a groundbreaking Mars mission further expanded with an orbiter, a lander and a rover – the very first Mars trio.
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