Sunday, March 11, 2018

China Testing Its Own Spaceplane



South China Morning Post: Lift-off in space plane race as China tests hypersonic drone model

Researchers confirm experimental military vehicle launched late last month, with work also under way in Beijing for civilian craft.

China launched a scaled-down model of a multipurpose, reusable space plane from a test site in the Gobi Desert late last month, part of its race to develop space travel technology.

The hypersonic space drone lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Inner Mongolia, accelerated to more than five times the speed of sound and reached orbital altitude before returning safely to ground, according to a researcher with knowledge of the experiment.

China’s goal was to develop a space plane for both military and civilian missions, capable of travelling fast enough to penetrate missile defence systems and with the heft to help rebuild satellite networks or lift tourists to space, the researcher said.

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WNU Editor: This spaceplane program is in line with where the Chinese military is heading .... China's Military Revolution: Smarter, Better, Faster, Smaller (The Cipher Brief)

More News On Reports That China Is Testing A Space Plane

China Is Building a Spaceplane of Its Own -- Popular Mechanics
Chinese Reusable Spaceplane Capable of Taking-off from Conventional Runway -- Defense World
China's Secretive Reusable Hypersonic Space Plane Prototype Flies Test Flight -- International Business Times
China launches scaled down reusable space plane -- Next Big Future
China Develops Revolutionary Reusable Space Plane -- RS-Tech
China researching reusable space plane, solar drone -- Ecns

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