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Shenlong (spacecraft)

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Shenlong
Role Reusable uncrewed spaceplane
National origin China
First flight 11 December 2007 (drop tests)
8 January 2011 (suborbital flight)
4 September 2020 (orbital flight)
Status Deployed (in use), 3 missions done
Primary user People's Liberation Army (PLA)
China National Space Administration (CNSA)[1]

Shenlong (simplified Chinese: 神龙; traditional Chinese: 神龍; pinyin: shén lóng; lit. 'divine dragon') is a Chinese reusable robotic spaceplane currently in development.[1] Only a few pictures have appeared since it was revealed in late 2007.[2]

Test platform

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The latest academic models, shown in 2000, reveal a delta-winged spaceplane with a single vertical stabilizer, equipped with three high-expansion engines. Presuming a seating arrangement of two crew members sitting side-by-side in the cockpit, dimensions could be very roughly estimated as a wingspan of 8 m, a length of 12 m and a total mass of 12 tonnes. This is within the payload capability of the Chinese CZ-2F or type A launch vehicles.[citation needed]

Spaceplane

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Images of an aerodynamic scaled model, ready to be launched from under the fuselage of a Xian H-6 bomber,[3][4] were first published on 11 December 2007.[5] Code named Program 863-706, the Chinese name of this spacecraft was revealed as "Shenlong Spaceplane" (神龙空天飞机). These images, possibly taken in late 2005, show the vehicle's black reentry heat shielding, indicating a reusable design, and its engine assembly.[6] The first sub-orbital flight of the Shenlong reportedly took place on 8 January 2011.[7]

Earlier, images of the High-enthalpy Shock Waves Laboratory wind tunnel of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) State Key Laboratory of High-Temperature Gas Dynamics (LHD) were published in the Chinese media. Tests with speeds up to Mach 20 were reached in around 2001.[8]

As of 2007, the CAS academician Zhunang Fenggan (莊逢甘) said that a first test flight of the spaceplane would be conducted during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan", from 2006 to 2010.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Moss, Trefor (4 September 2020). "China Launches Experimental Spaceplane". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. ^ Richard Fisher, Jr. (17 December 2007). "Shenlong Space Plane Advances China's Military Space Potential". International Assessment and Strategy Center. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Mystery Space Plane May be Part of U.S.-China Competition". HuffPost. 11 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Don't Buy China's Hypersonic Head-Fake. Its Spaceplanes Are Racing Ahead". Defense One. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ^ Shats, Daniel (2021). Chinese spaceplane programs. Peter Wood, BluePath Labs, China Aerospace Studies Institute. Montgomery, AL. ISBN 9798763459043. OCLC 1288576470.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "中国"神龙"飞行器首度曝光 身世扑朔迷离". mil.news.sohu.com. SOHU.com. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Shenlong "Divine Dragon" takes flight, is China developing its first spaceplane?". chinasignpost.com. China Signpost. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  8. ^ "氢氧爆轰驱动激波高焓风洞". lhd.imech.cas.cn. 中国科学院高温气体动力学重点实验室. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ^ "國產空天飛機 3年內試飛". 香港文匯報. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
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