Chinese Reusable Space Vehicle

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Low Earth Orbit Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921) Jiuquan, People's Republic of China

Note: Launch time is approximate. Probable reflight of the Chinese spaceplane capable of returning to Earth, which flew in orbit September 4 - 6, 2020.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Aug. 4, 2022, 7:20 p.m.

Launch success officially confirmed.


Cosmic_Penguin • Aug. 2, 2022, 6:32 p.m.

Added launch based on NOTAMs; may have very high uncertainty.


Long March 2F

Family: Long March 2
Configuration: F

The Long March 2F is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch the crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a human-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    62.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    3.35 m
  • Launch Mass
    464 T
  • Thrust
    5985 kN
Family
  • Name
    Long March 2F
  • Family
    Long March 2
  • Variant
    F
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Long March 2F
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    8400 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft


Active Cargo Unmanned
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Serial Number: None

First Chinese reusable spacecraft

Chinese reusable spacecraft Details

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

Circle Image
Chairman & President: Lei Fanpei Founded: 1999 Successes: 410 Failures: 13 Pending: 6

Agency Type: Government

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment. It was officially established in July 1999 as part of a Chinese government reform drive, having previously been one part of the former China Aerospace Corporation. Various incarnations of the program date back to 1956.

INFO WIKI

Related News

The Launch Pad

China Spaceplane Lands After Record 276 Days In Orbit

China’s secretive reusable spaceplane has completed its second mission, successfully landing on May 8th after spending 276 days in orbit.

SpaceNews

China’s spaceplane conducted proximity and capture maneuvers with subsatellite, data suggests

China’s secretive spaceplane may have performed multiple recaptures of an object it released into orbit during its recently completed second flight as part of on-orbit testing.

NASASpaceflight

China launches resupply mission, lands space plane, and readies methane rocket

China plans to continue its ongoing supply chain for the Tiangong Space Station (TSS) by launching the Tianzhou-6 mission. The launch occurred at 13:25 UTC on May 10 and lofted a Tianzhou capsule on top of a Chang Zheng 7 (Long March 7).

SpaceNews

China’s mystery reusable spaceplane lands after 276 days in orbit

China’s secretive reusable spaceplane completed its second mission Monday, landing after 276 days in orbit.

SpaceNews

China’s mystery spaceplane releases object into orbit

China’s secretive reusable spaceplane has released an object into orbit, according to tracking data from the U.S. Space Force.

Jiuquan, People's Republic of China

Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921)


Electron
Success
3 days, 12 hours ago
TROPICS-3
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Last two operational (TROPICS-06 & TROPICS-07) satellites for NASA's Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a…


SpaceShipTwo
Success
3 days, 23 hours ago
VSS Unity 25
Spaceport America - Air launch to Suborbital flight

Virgin Galactic return to space mission ahead of the first commercial flight.


Nuri
Success
4 days, 6 hours ago
NEXTSat-2 & SNIPE
LC-2 - Naro Space Center, South Korea

Third flight of the KSLV-II "Nuri" launch vehicle, carrying NEXTSat-2 as well as SNIPE A through D.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
5 days, 2 hours ago
Progress MS-23 (84P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Axiom Space Mission 2
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

This is a Crew Dragon flight for a private company Axiom Space. The mission will carry a professionally trained commander alongside three private ast…


Long March 2
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
MUST-1A/B & Luojia-2 01
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan, People's Republic of China

Macau Science Satellite-1 (MUST-1A/B) are 2 magnetosphere research satellites from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) aiming to st…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Iridium-9 & OneWeb 19
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

5 spare satellites for the Iridium NEXT constellation and 16 satellites for the OneWeb constellation (15 of current generation and 1 demonstration sa…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 6-3
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 3
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Beidou-3 G4
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

This satellite is a part of the geostationary component of the 3rd phase of the Chinese Beidou (Compass) satellite navigation system. It features a p…


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 5-9
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 56 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.