China launches reusable spacecraft into orbit
China on Thursday successfully launched a reusable robotic spacecraft for the third time since 2020, in a series of orbital test flights that it says are aimed at developing reusable technologies to reduce space mission costs. The uncrewed spacecraft was launched atop a Long March 2F rocket, the same rocket series used by the nation to transport its astronauts to space, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday, according to state media. The spacecraft will operate in orbit for "a period of time" before returning to a designated landing site in China. During its flight, reusable technologies will be "verified" and space experiments conducted, state media reported, giving no other details. The last launch of the spacecraft was in August 2022. It returned to Earth after 276 days in orbit. No details were given on what technologies were tested or how high it flew. Images of the spacecraft have never been publicly released. (Reuters)