In the future, Chinese spacecraft will be able to take off and land at airports like normal passenger planes. A successful flight test carried out last July, showed this aircraft has advantages over rockets made in the United States (US).
Currently, China is developing a spacecraft known as the Tengyun. This aircraft has a horizontal take-off and horizontal landing (HTHL) system.
As quoted from the South China Morning Post, Tuesday (12/21/2021), this system provides an advantage over the US equivalent of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), which is launched with a rocket.
"China's spacecraft technology is inspired by the US's X-37B, but US OTVs still need to be rocket-launched, while China has now overcome this limitation," commented Su Ming, editor-in-chief of aviation magazine Naval and Merchant Ships.
The test flight of the Tengyun, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) in July, was launched on a suborbital flight by an aircraft carrier, not a rocket.
"The successful test of HTHL shows China's future spacecraft will be able to take off from any airport in the country. That means, future spacecraft flights could change from now, from 30 times a year to more than 1,000 times a year. , like an ordinary plane," Su Ming predicted.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced the Tengyun civil aerospace project in 2016, aimed at developing a reusable space transportation system.
China has long-term commercial goals for its reusable spacecraft, thereby cutting commercial satellite operating costs.
"These projects can be used to develop telecommunications in remote rural areas, and to explore new markets in underdeveloped countries," said Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Yuan Wang military science and technology institute in Beijing.
On the other hand, China's technological advances are likely to add to concerns about space weaponry. A number of countries are racing to develop anti-satellite weapons and hypersonic missiles.