China has a spacecraft with which its communist regime does not communicate much; Something not out of his habit. It would be a space shuttle, a technology that no other country in the world currently uses. The ship is currently in orbit and it is not clear what it is doing.
Why is this important?
Space shuttles, the latest technology of the 1980s, are no longer popular. These vehicles, which were able to return to Earth by a controlled landing like an airplane, are all but gone: American teleportation system The STS program was permanently discontinued in 2011, without being replaced. Its Soviet equivalent, the Buran shuttle, made only one flight before the project was canceled in 1993. But the Chinese seem to have a working shuttle, and their activity raises many questions.The launch was not accompanied by much fanfare
the facts: Although the Chinese Communist regime likes to brag about it Undeniable progress in spaceThe launch of the Long March 2F missile on August 4 did not generate much fanfare.
- A brief statement issued by the Chinese authorities said that the launch, from Jiuquan in the Gobi desert, was to launch a space plane into orbit. Little is known about the craft or its mission.
- China had the craft, presumably a type of shuttle, within 90 days orbit around the earth to comment. The spacecraft lifted perihelion, the closest point in a celestial body’s orbit, to between 597 and 608 kilometers above Earth’s surface.
- This is the spacecraft’s second known flight. The ship first flew in September 2020, but only completed two orbits in two days before returning to Earth, according to reports. space news. The spacecraft appears to be part of a two-stage orbitalThe launch system, with rocket-assisted vertical take-off and horizontal landing, is probably similar to the shuttles of the Great Age.
Other things
speculation: This space plane appears to be launching another smaller craft into orbit.
- During the spacecraft’s first known flight, in 2020, the craft has already launched an object that can be seen on radar.
- This time it took 18 Space Defense Squadron From the US Space Force, another object near the Chinese spacecraft where, in a similar orbit, but far enough away to confirm that it was indeed a separate object.
- The US military and space experts around the world can only guess. One possibility is that the object was a small satellite intended to monitor the performance of the spacecraft. It could also be a test for launching small payloads into orbit.
Xinjiang
China is as conservative as possible about this mysterious spaceship. The Chinese Academy of Vehicle Launch Technology (CALT) acknowledges the existence of the device, but describes it as “supporting the construction of China’s scientific, technological, space and transportation strengths, with applied social, technological, economic and other practical application values”, without putting forward anything concrete.
- It is not known how long the spacecraft will remain in orbit, but the US Space Force estimates that it will one day land at the Lop Nur base in Xinjiang, where satellite images indicate increased activity by ground crews.
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