![\"China](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.futurism.com\/2020\/09\/china-launched-mysterious-reusable-test-spacecraft-300x158.jpg\")
<\/div>Mysterious Spacecraft<\/h2>
China quietly launched a mysterious reusable spacecraft into orbit this morning, atop a massive Long March 2F rocket at the country’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.<\/p>
China’s state news website Xinhua<\/em> called the launch a success<\/a>. “The test spacecraft will return to its intended domestic landing site after a period of orbit, during which reusable technical validation will be carried out as planned,” reads the report, as translated by Google Translate.<\/p> It’s still unclear what the spacecraft, likely a project by the country’s main space contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), is designed to do — or what it even looks like, for that matter.<\/p> Some experts suggest it could be a spaceplane, reminiscent of the US’s top secret X-37B<\/a> project, which recently carried out its sixth mission<\/a> in orbit.<\/p> “China has been looking into a few different concepts for spaceplanes for quite a few years,” Andrew Jones, a freelance reporter specializing in China’s space program, told The Verge<\/em><\/a>.<\/p> In 2017, China announced plans to test a reusable spaceplane in 2020, as SpaceNews<\/em> reports<\/a>. Adding to the rumors was apparent modification work on the launch tower, reportedly allowing wider payloads to be launched using the Long March 2F rocket.<\/p> The 2017 reports also claimed that such a reusable spacecraft would be designed to carry both crew and payloads, according to SpaceNews<\/em>.<\/p> READ MORE:<\/strong> China just launched a ‘reusable test spacecraft’ — possibly a spaceplane<\/a> [The Verge<\/em>] More on X-37B:<\/strong> The Space Force Is About to Launch a Mysterious Spacecraft<\/a><\/p> The post China Just Launched a Mysterious “Reusable Test Spacecraft”<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Read more from the original source: Mysterious Spacecraft China quietly launched a mysterious reusable spacecraft into orbit this morning, atop a massive Long March 2F rocket at the country\u2019s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. China\u2019s state news website Xinhua called the launch a success . \u201cThe test spacecraft will return to its intended domestic landing site after a period of orbit, during which reusable technical validation will be carried out as planned,\u201d reads the report, as translated by Google Translate. Continue reading Top Secret<\/h2>
Wider Payloads<\/h2>
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China Just Launched a Mysterious “Reusable Test Spacecraft”<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"