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Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft

The Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft is the first reusable spacecraft produced by China. It embarked upon its initial orbital mission on 4 September 2020. According to media reports, the spacecraft is launched into Earth orbit in a vertical configuration while enclosed within the payload fairings of a rocket like a traditional satellite, but it returns to Earth via autonomous runway landing. In the absence of any official descriptions of the spacecraft or photographic depictions thereof, some observers have speculated that the spacecraft may resemble the X-37B spaceplane of the United States in both form and function.

Operational history
The state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported in 2017 that China planned to launch a reusable spacecraft in 2020 designed to "fly into the sky like an aircraft". For launching payloads like the spaceplane, the Long March 2F/G needs four cusps added to its fairing to accommodate the payload (as seen post-launch), which led to speculation that the spacecraft resembles the US' Boeing X37-B. Unofficial reports indicate that the spacecraft is part of the Shenlong spaceplane, which is claimed to be similar to the Boeing X-37B. On 6 September 2020, two days after the launch, the spacecraft successfully returned to the Earth. According to observers Marco Langbroek and Jonathan McDowell, the spacecraft's landing site was an airbase located at Lop Nur, China. again on top of a Long March 2F rocket. The spacecraft was observed to have raised its orbit on 25 August 2022 to a near-circular 597 by 608-kilometre orbit. While aloft it deployed at least one object that may have been a small satellite or monitoring craft. On 8 May 2023, the spacecraft returned to Earth after 276 days in orbit. Mission 3 On 14 December 2023 at around 14:12 UTC, the spacecraft was launched for a third time, again on top of a Long March 2F rocket. It has released at least seven objects into orbit. On 6 September 2024, 01:10 UTC, the spacecraft returned to Earth after in orbit. The spaceplane was photographed in orbit, from the ground, by an amateur space photographer. Mission 4 The reusable spaceplane was launched for the fourth time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near 3:57 UTC on 7 February 2026. List of missions As of 2023, there is no information in the western media regarding the total number of spacecraft which may have been built or in operation. ==Specifications==
Specifications
The only information available about the program is the photos taken from the ground by an amateur in late July 2024, In November 2024, a new photograph of a spacecraft appeared on a presentation slide during a space forum event in Korea, the speaker is a colonel from the US Space Forces – Korea. The subject looks different from the American X-37B, hence it is speculated to be the Chinese spacecraft. The image is believed to be taken by a Maxar Technologies satellite, as the company logo is seen at the corner of the photo. Without a clear link being established between these two projects, in 2020, Chen Hongbo, of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor for China's space agency, said during a 2017 interview that China's space plane would be able to be re-used up to 20 times. Chen said the vehicle's first stage would use a scramjet engine. ==Speculation over the spaceplane's role==
Speculation over the spaceplane's role
Jonathan McDowell speculated that the very high speeds the spaceplane underwent during re-entry might help the Chinese in their development of hypersonic missiles. He added the Chinese may have thought, "If the Americans have one of those, there's got to be a good reason for it, so we better get one too." == See also ==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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