Chinese Reusable Space Vehicle
Long March 2F
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Mission
Chinese Reusable Space Vehicle
Type: Test Flight
The payload is an experimental reusable spacecraft. It is rumored to be a prototype of a reusable spaceplane (similar to Boeing X-37B vehicle). The spacecraft stayed in orbit for two days and returned to Earth on September 6. Though the landing site was not disclosed, the spacecraft is presumed to have landed at an airbase near Lop Nor nuclear test site.
Location
Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921)
Jiuquan, People’s Republic of China
177 rockets have launched from Jiuquan, People’s Republic of China.
Rocket
Long March 2F – China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Family: Long March 2
Length: 62 m
Diameter: 3.35 m
Launch Mass: 464 T
Low Earth Orbit Capacity: 8400 kg
The Long March 2F was manufactured by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation with the first launch on 1999-11-19. Long March 2F has 9 successful launches and 0 failed launches with a total of 9 launches. The Long March 2F is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch the crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a human-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Agency
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Type: Government
Abbreviation: CASC
Administration: Chairman & President: Lei Fanpei
Founded: 1999
Launchers: Long March
Country: CHN
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment. It was officially established in July 1999 as part of a Chinese government reform drive, having previously been one part of the former China Aerospace Corporation. Various incarnations of the program date back to 1956.
