The payload is an experimental reusable spacecraft. It is rumored to be a prototype of a reusable spaceplane (similar to Boeing X-37B vehicle). The spacecraft stayed in orbit for two days and returned to Earth on September 6. Though the landing site was not disclosed, the spacecraft is presumed to have landed at an airbase near Lop Nor nuclear test site.
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.
First Chinese reusable spacecraft
Chinese reusable spacecraft DetailsThe 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 WIKIA batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
3 weather satellites performing atmospheric measurements using GNSS Radio Occultation for a Tianjin based company. Constellation is planned to have a…
Maiden Flight of the Ariane 62 launch vehicle, carrying ten cubesats, two deployers, five experiments, and two reentry capsules.
Türksat 6A is Turkey's first domestically manufactured geostationary communications satellite. It is to reside in 42° East orbital slot, providing se…
A pair of satellites officially described as for cartographic surveying purposes, details TBD.
Fifth flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying eight cubesats for NASA's ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) mission.
A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4) is a Japanese satellite designed to observe the Earth's surface using a phased array type L-band syn…
Chinese communication geostationary satellite for unknown purposes.
Second batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office t…