China’s secretive space plane returns after long in-orbit ops

China’s secretive spaceplane Shenlong returned to Earth safely on September 5 after completing its 268 days of in-orbit operation.

The reusable experimental spacecraft landed at a site in Gobi Desert.
Nine months back, the United States detected unknown object being ejected from the plane and sent into the orbit.

It was also spacecraft’s third orbital test that aimed at verifying reusable technology and conduct science experiments in space.

Convenient and affordable round-trip methods

During its second orbital test, Shenlong spent 276 days in space before
returning to Earth in May 2023.

The first orbital test of the spacecraft was conducted in 2020. However, China has not made its specifications public, hiding its size, weight and other technical details.

The success of the experiment demonstrates the growing maturity of China’s reusable spacecraft technologies, which will pave the way for more convenient and affordable round-trip methods for the peaceful use of space in the future, reported China’s state media.

China tight-lipped on the space plane’s specifications

China has remained tight-lipped on the space plane’s specifications since its first orbital test in 2020, and has yet to reveal technical details, including its size or weight.

The spacecraft was last launched on December 14, 2023, from Jiuquan spaceport on a Long March 2F rocket.

The launch took place two weeks ahead of the launch of the U.S. X-37B spaceplane, which is claimed to be analogous to Shenlong. X-37B is claimed to be one of the world’s newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft, designed to operate in low-earth orbit, 150 to 500 miles above the Earth.

The vehicle is the first since the Space Shuttle with the ability to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis. United States Air Force’s unmanned space vehicle explores reusable vehicle technologies that support long-term space objectives.

Rendezvous and proximity operations

“The Chinese spaceplane has completed its third flight. Chinese media reported (at 0144 UTC) landing of the plane on Sep 6 (Beijing time). My calculations show the orbit ground track of 2023-195A passed over the usual Lop Nor landing site at 0110 UTC Sep 6 (about an hour ago),” said astrophysicist and space watcher Jonathan McDowell in a post on X.

All missions have involved releasing a small satellite or object into orbit. The second and third missions have seen the main spacecraft appear to conduct rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) with the object it released. The third flight saw RPOs conducted in June, reported Space News.

The spacecraft is reportedly developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which earlier revealed plans for a fully reusable, two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) space transportation system before the first launch.

While specifications of the third mission’s purpose and payload are not known, the space plane raised its orbit in January from 300km to 600km (186 to 372 miles) above Earth. The mysterious spacecraft in orbit was potentially caught on camera for the first time last month by Austrian space watcher Felix Schöfbänker, who captured images that appeared to show it in flight, reported SCMP.