Shenlong (spacecraft)
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Shenlong (Template:Zh) 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
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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Spaceplane
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]
See also
- Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft
- Boeing X-37 – American reusable spacecraft
References
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