With the recent announcement of a long-term program to develop a hybrid spaceplane, China appears to be aiming to enter the space travel market, offering trips into orbit at low prices. According to various reports in Chinese media outlets, the country hopes to send “common” people to space by 2030 at a much lower cost compared to current rates.
he state-run China Central Television (CCTV) revealed last week that the new spacecraft will incorporate different kinds of engine technologies. It will rely on an indigenous turbine, ramjet, and rocket engines to power the spaceplane in various phases of flight. China hopes that it will allow the spaceship to operate as an ordinary plane in the atmosphere and as a rocket during its flight in space.
The spacecraft is planned to be reusable and it is planned to be able to take off and land like an airplane at normal operational airports. These attributes are expected to substantially reduce the cost of space travel. China appears to be planning to send this vehicle to up to hundreds of miles above the Earth’s surface.
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