Secretive Chinese space plane launches in third ever mission

15 December 2023 , 14:51

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Little is known about what the secretive Chinese space plane will be doing, but previous missions may have seen objects - possibly satellites - launched into orbit

China has launched a space plane in mysterious circumstances in its third ever mission.

The Long March 2F rocket launched the experimental spacecraft from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Thursday. It was sent off on a mission to conduct space science experiments and to "provide technical support for the peaceful use of space".

The spacecraft's most recent launch came seven months ago. Before that, the first and second launches happened 23 months apart, according to SpaceNews.

Before the secretive launch, SpaceX - Elon Musk's space exploration company - backed out of its 7th planned mission for the X-37B reusable space plane, a US Space Force spacecraft. It also removed the Falcon Heavy rocket from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.

According to reports, mission USSF-52 was scrapped Wednesday for experts to "perform additional system checkouts". Similarly to the US X-37B, mystery also shrouds China's reusable space craft, which is commonly known as the Shenlong, meaning Divine Dragon in Mandarin.

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The information that has been publicised about the mission explains how the spacecraft is being used to test new payloads and operations in orbit. In the same way as NASA's space shuttle, it launches into space in a vertical fashion as it's positioned on top of a rocket. After conducting the mission, it lands on a runway in the same manner as a commercial aircraft.

General Chance Saltzman, U.S. Space Force's Chief of Space Operations believes that the timing of the US and Chinese missions is not an accident. Beijing and Washington are both watching each other's space planes closely, he told the Space Force Association's Spacepower Conference this week

"Because it is a capability; the ability to put something in orbit, do some things, and bring it home and take a look at the results is powerful," Saltzman said, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. "And so these are two of the most watched objects on orbit while they're on orbit. It's probably no coincidence that they're trying to match us in timing and sequence of this."

The most recent Chinese launch took a total of 276 days. During the operation, the ship ejected an unidentified object into orbit. At the time, it was thought it could be a small satellite.

Ryan Fahey