The Chinese spaceplane completed its third flight , spend 268 days in orbit on a secretive commission likely focused on developing the experimental fomite . During its time in arena , the recyclable spaceplane released several objects and parent its altitude to 372 stat mi ( 600 kilometers ) above Earth , in what was an eventful mission .
China ’s spaceplane , named Shenlong , touched down late Thursday ( Friday in Bejing ) at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert , according to local mediareports . The spacecraft take place over its denominate landing place situation , a dried - up lakebed in the southeastern dowery of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region known as Lop Nur , around 9:10 p.m. ET , astrophysicist and space trackerJonathan McDowellwrote on X.
The 268 - day mission , the third for Shenlong , was a mental test of the spacecraft ’s reclaimable technology and for conducting quad - base skill experiments , grant to Chinese state news representation Xinhua
An Astronomer captured a rare glimpse of China’s mysterious spaceplane in orbit.Felix Schöfbänker
China has not released any information about its reusable space vehicle , let in its size or payload capacity . in the beginning in August , however , we got arare coup d’oeil of the spaceplane in orbitthrough the crystalline lens of an astrophotographer in Austria . The trope , although rather blurred , did reveal some never - before - seen details , including what may be solar panels stuck to the backside - end of the spacecraft . The spaceplane also appear to be around 30 animal foot ( 10 meters ) in length .
The reclaimable spacecraft launch on December 14 , 2023 on board a Long March 2F postman projectile . Shortly after launching , China ’s Shenlongdeployed six secret objects into compass , which look to be emitting various signals . Later in May , the spaceplanereleased an unidentifiable object , which was thought to point the conclusion of its deputation .
The spaceplane ’s initiatory flight of steps took position in 2021 , when it persist in range for only two days before land back on Earth . For its 2nd time in orbit , the spaceplane launched in August 2022 and spent 276 days in Earth ’s compass . China ’s spaceplane is a product of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology , a province - owned manufacturer that makes both civilian and military blank space launching vehicles .
Shenlong has a U.S. counterpart , the Boeing X-37 that is being developed by the Space Force . The X-37 launched in December 2023 for its 7th commission , which is yet to make out to an closing . The U.S. spaceplane holds the disc for the longest - continuance mission , spending 908 day in blank space on its sixth flight . Marco Langbroek , an astrodynamics lecturer at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands , recentlycapturedimages of the X-37 spaceplane in orbit , which had n’t been see since March .
China did n’t overreach its previous criminal record of time spent in orbit , but perhaps the focus is on the spaceplane ’s reusability to increase the nation ’s accession to orbit as its space ambition continues to grow . In that display case , the true test will be the timing of the spaceplane ’s next launch .
More : China Targets Near - ground Asteroid for Upcoming Deflection trial run
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