China has successfully launched its reusable spaceplane for the fourth time on Friday, continuing its series of secretive missions. The spaceplane was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, though details regarding the mission’s specific objectives have not been disclosed.
According to Xinhua, the state-run news agency, the experimental spacecraft aims to conduct technological verification for reusable spacecraft and provide technical support for the peaceful use of outer space. However, China has remained tight-lipped about the exact purpose of the mission, following the pattern of previous launches.
This is the fourth launch since the program began in 2020, with earlier missions occurring on September 4, 2020, August 5, 2022, and December 14, 2023. Past missions have been speculated to involve the deployment of small satellites into orbit, though it is unclear whether the fourth flight follows this pattern.
The spacecraft was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), with funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
While China continues to advance its reusable spacecraft technology, NASA has been operating reusable spacecraft systems for more than four decades. The U.S. agency’s Space Shuttle, which first flew into orbit on April 12, 1981, was the world’s first reusable spacecraft, capable of carrying large satellites both to and from orbit.
