China conducts second test flight of reusable suborbital vehicle

It was launched with a rocket from the Gobi Desert, took a suborbital flight and landed like an ordinary plane at an airport 220km from the launch site

It’s believed to be part of an ambitious plan to build a hypersonic transport system that could take people or cargo anywhere on Earth in an hour

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The suborbital vehicle was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:50pm, 26 Aug 2022

China successfully carried out a second test flight of a reusable suborbital vehicle on Friday, according to state media reports.

The suborbital vehicle is believed to be part of an ambitious plan to build a hypersonic transport system that could take cargo or passengers anywhere on Earth in an hour.

It was launched vertically with a rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert and completed a suborbital flight according to the set procedure, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The vehicle landed horizontally, like an ordinary plane, at the Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport – 220km (137 miles) southeast of the Jiuquan launch site.

Developed by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the vehicle had its first flight in July last year. Key technologies – such as autonomous vertical take-off, atmosphere re-entry and horizontal landing – were put to the test, according to the Chinese space authorities.

The same vehicle was used for the second flight on Friday, showing that its reusable technology can cut the cost of the system’s long-term operation.

Chinese space authorities said it marked a breakthrough in the development of original space transport technology. But no other details were given, including whether it is a hypersonic vehicle, nor were any photos released.