China launches secretive reusable test spacecraft

中国秘密发射可重复使用的试验航天器

HELSINKI — China sent a highly-classified reusable experimental spacecraft into orbit Thursday, two years after a similarly clandestine mission.

赫尔辛基——周四，中国发射一艘高端可重复使用实验航天器，两年前，中国曾执行过一次类似的秘密任务。

A Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert Aug. 4, sending a “reusable test space” into low Earth orbit, Chinese language state media Xinhua reported.

据中国官方媒体新华社报道，8月4日，一枚长征2F火箭从戈壁沙漠的酒泉卫星发射中心升空，将可重复使用实验航天器送入了近地轨道。

Xinhua confirmed the successful launch around three hours after the 12:00 p.m. Eastern opening of a launch window, indicated by airspace closure notices issued days earlier.

新华社证实，该实验航天器成功发射于午后三点，几天前发布地空域关闭通知也指出要开放东部发射窗口。

The terse report stated that the test spacecraft will “operate in orbit for a period of time” before returning to its intended landing site in China. Technical verification of reusable and in-orbit services will be carried out as planned to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space, according to a machine translation of the report.

这份简报称，实验航天器将“在轨道上运行一段时间”，然后返回在中国的预定着陆点。报告的机器翻译显示，将按计划开展可重复使用和在轨服务的技术验证，为和平利用太空提供技术支持。

U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (18 SDS) later tracked the spacecraft in 346 by 593 kilometer orbit inclined by 50 degrees.

美国太空部队第18太空防御中队（18SDS）后来以346*593公里、50度的倾斜角度，在轨道上跟踪了中国的实验航天器飞船。

China’s space authorities have not released any images of the launch or related operations from this or a similar profile mission launched in 2020. The report did not state the mission to be a second flight of the spacecraft.

中国航天部门尚未公布此次以及2020年发射的类似任务的发射和相关操作的图像。该报告也并未说明此次任务是该航天器的第二次飞行。

While little is known about the spacecraft, it is speculated, based on previous statements and activities, that the vehicle is a spaceplane. It is possibly an orbital segment which will operate with a reusable suborbital stage, apparently tested in 2021. The latter involved a vertical takeoff and horizontal landing.

虽然对该航天器知之甚少，但根据以前的陈述和活动，可以推测出该航天器是架太空飞机。它可能是一个轨道段，将与可重复使用的亚轨道级一起运行，该亚轨道显然已在2021年进行过测试，主要包括对垂直起飞和水平着陆的测试。

The Long March 2F usually launches China’s Shenzhou crewed missions and has a payload capacity of just over eight metric tons to low Earth orbit, suggesting that the spacecraft could be similar in size and function to U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane. The Long March 2F and its payload fairing would have been modified to accommodate the launch the reusable test spacecraft.

长征二号F火箭通常用以发射中国的神舟载人任务，其有效载荷能力略高于8公吨，可将搭载物送入近地轨道，这表明该实验航天器在大小和功能上可能与美国空军的X-37B航天飞机相似。长征二号F及其有效载荷整流罩可能已被修改，以适应发射该可重复使用的测试航天器。

China’s previous orbital test of a reusable experimental spacecraft took place in September 2020, with the spacecraft spending just under two days in orbit. It released a small payload before landing in China.

此前，中国的可重复使用实验航天器入轨测试是在2020年9月进行的，航天器在轨道上的时间刚好不到两天。降落前面，航天器先释放了一些有效载荷。

While there is little information about the mission, the project appears to fit into space transportation development plans outlined by CASC, China’s main space contractor, and its major subsidiaries.

虽然有关此次任务的信息很少，但该项目似乎符合中国航天科技集团公司及其主要子公司制定的航天运输发展计划。

CASC has previously iterated plans to develop low-cost, reliable access to space, including reusable launch vehicles and a spaceplane.

中国航天科技集团公司此前曾重复计划开发成本低、可靠性强的太空通道，包括可重复使用的运载火箭和航天飞机。

A once-every-five-year space “white paper” released by the State Council Information Office in January stated that China would, “continue to strengthen research into key technologies for reusable space transport systems, and conduct test flights accordingly.”

国务院新闻办公室1月份发布的每五年一次的航天“白皮书”称，中国将“继续加强可重复使用航天运输系统关键技术的研究，并进行相应的试飞。”

Chen Hongbo, from CASC’s China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), told Science and Technology Daily (Chinese) in 2017 that an under-development reusable spacecraft would be capable of carrying both crew and payloads, would be tested in 2020.

早在2017年，来自中国航天科技集团公司中国运载火箭技术研究院（CALT）的陈洪波就告诉过《科技日报》（中文），正在开发的可重复使用的航天器，能够载人和载荷，该航天器将在2020年进行测试。

Long Lehao, a veteran chief designer of the Long March rocket series, last month presented a range of space transportation concepts during a public lecture, including a spaceplane render, viewable here.

龙乐豪是长征系列火箭的资深总设计师，上个月在一次公开演讲中，他介绍了一系列太空运输概念，包括一个空间飞机图，可在这里查看。

Any such project will however face large technological and other challenges, Bleddyn Bowen of the University of Leicester told SpaceNews.

然而，莱斯特大学的布莱顿 鲍文（Bleddyn Bowen）告诉《太空新闻》，任何这样的项目都会面临巨大的技术及其他挑战。

“Spaceplanes and reusable orbital vehicles have come and gone, and come back again. There can be some marginal and varied uses for them but they are extremely expensive compared to conventional rockets because the stresses of atmospheric re-entry wreaks havoc on the materials and structures,” Bowen said.

“航天飞机和可重复使用的轨道飞行器发射出去，再回来，来来回回。这些航天器可能有一些边际和不同的用途，但由于重返大气层的压力会对航天器材料和结构造成严重破坏，因此此类航天器与传统火箭相比，极其昂贵，”鲍文说。

“The Chinese development of spaceplane technology will be remarkable if they manage to overcome the problems Dyna-Soar and the Space Shuttle faced, and the challenges SpaceX’s Starship is now facing as well. We should see spaceplane development as part of China’s wider investments in all manner of space technologies, civilian and military, and not as something uniquely threatening or certain to succeed where others have failed.”

“如果能够克服太阳动力和航天飞机所面临的问题以及SpaceX的星际飞船现在所面临的挑战，那么中国在空间飞机技术方面的发展将是了不起的。我们应该把航天飞机的发展看作是中国在各种民用和军用空间技术方面更广泛投资的一部分，而不是把它看作是一种独特的威胁，或者说是在其他国家失败的地方一定会成功的东西。“

Other reusable spacecraft or spaceplane projects are under consideration in China. The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC), another giant state-owned enterprise, is working on its own spaceplane, named Tengyun.

中国也正在考虑其他可重复使用的航天器和项目。中国航天科工集团公司（CASIC）是中国另一家大型国有企业，目前该企业正在研制自己的航天飞机，名为腾云。

“Unlike rocket recycling adopted by SpaceX, the spaceplane can take off from an ordinary airport to transport spacecraft into orbit. It will bring about a revolution for future space transportation,” CASIC’s Zhang Hongwen told CCTV in 2018.

“与SpaceX采用的火箭回收不同，航天飞机可以从普通机场起飞，将航天器送入轨道。它将为未来的航天运输带来一场革命”中国航天科工集团公司的张洪文在2018年告诉CCTV。

In addition, Chinese commercial firm Space Transportation last year raised more than $46.3 million for its hypersonic spaceplane plans.

此外，中国商业公司太空运输公司去年为其高超音速航天飞机计划筹集了4630多万美元。

Meanwhile, the U.S. X-37B spaceplane is currently carrying out its sixth mission, which has already extended to more than 800 days in orbit.

与此同时，美国的X-37B空天飞机目前正在执行第六次任务，其在轨飞行时间已经延长到800多天。

CALT has also recently revealed plans to develop a fully-reusable super-heavy lift launch vehicle over the next decade, apparently inspired by the SpaceX Starship project.

CALT最近还透露，计划在未来十年内开发一种完全可重复使用的超重型运载火箭，这显然是受到了SpaceX星际飞船项目的启发。

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Edited at 6:35 p.m. Eastern, Aug. 4, to add spacecraft orbit information.

编辑于6：35下午东部时间，8月4日，添加航天器轨道信息。