In Brief <\/p>\n
China wants to take a shortcut in sending their rockets into space. Instead of the usual take off from the ground, Chinese engineers are working on designing a space rocket that canbe launched from an aircraft, according to a senior official talking to state-run newspaper China Daily. <\/p>\n
Li Tongyu, the head of carrier rocket development at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, explained that the rockets are meant to send hundreds of low-orbit satellites into space for military and research purposes. The academys designers already have a ready-for-production model for a solid-fuel rocket thats capable of carrying a 100-kilogram (220-pound) payload into low Earth orbit. The designers, however, intend to develop a heavy-duty version of the rocket, capable of carrying a 200-kilogram (440-pound) payload. <\/p>\n
The Y-20 strategic transport plane will be the carrier of these rockets. The jet will hold a rocket within its fuselage and release it at a certain altitude. The rocket will be ignited after it leaves the plane, Li explained. The country will only consider launching solid-fuel rockets from aircraft,as land-based rockets relying on liquid fuel require days of preparation,according to Chinese experts, and China will continue to rely on conventional rockets for heavier satellites, as well. <\/p>\n
If successful, China may be pioneeringa new method for the country to fly space missions. Air-launched rockets can be deployed more quickly than their ground-launched counterparts, so the method couldsave valuable time when sending a crew to repair satellites or when launching observation satellites that could assist in relief efforts during disasters. They also arent beholden to launch range schedules and susceptible to weather-related delays. <\/p>\n
Recently, China has been beefing up its space program. Just last year, the country sent its second space station into orbit, as the Tiangong-1 retired with a crash into the Earth. By April 2017, the Chinese plan to launch their first cargo spacecraft into space with a goal to maintain a permanently crewed space station by 2022. China has also expressed intentions to send a mission to Mars. <\/p>\n
Any countrys dedication of funds and resources into space exploration is good for humanity as a whole, so having China making space a priority is great news for anyone interested in expanding our understanding of the cosmos. <\/p>\n
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China Is Making Futuristic Space Rockets That Launch From Planes - Futurism<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Brief China wants to take a shortcut in sending their rockets into space. Instead of the usual take off from the ground, Chinese engineers are working on designing a space rocket that canbe launched from an aircraft, according to a senior official talking to state-run newspaper China Daily. Continue reading