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Passant Rabie
Wed, October 26, 2022, 1:00 AM·3 min read
A Kuaizhou-1A rocket blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to send a satellite into the orbit in northwest China Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021
China’s experimental spacecraft launched from the Jiuquan Launch Center in August.
It’s been nearly eight weeks since we last heard from China’s spaceplane, which launched from the the Gobi Desert in early August. But things are happening, as the spaceplane recently fired its thrusters to ascend to a higher and more circular orbit, but for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
The reusable spacecraft took off onboard a Long March 2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on August 4. As China’s second attempt to launch a spaceplane, the experimental vehicle flew at a higher altitude and for a longer period of time than its predecessor.
Shortly after it launched, the spaceplane stayed at an orbit of about 215 miles by 369 miles (346 kilometers by 593 kilometers) inclined at 50 degrees above the equator. But experts monitoring its orbit noted a changed occurring on Sunday, October 23, with the spacecraft raising its orbit to a near-circular 371 by 378miles (597 by 608 kilometers), SpaceNews reported.
Wed, October 26, 2022, 1:00 AM·3 min read
A Kuaizhou-1A rocket blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to send a satellite into the orbit in northwest China Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021
China’s experimental spacecraft launched from the Jiuquan Launch Center in August.
It’s been nearly eight weeks since we last heard from China’s spaceplane, which launched from the the Gobi Desert in early August. But things are happening, as the spaceplane recently fired its thrusters to ascend to a higher and more circular orbit, but for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
The reusable spacecraft took off onboard a Long March 2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on August 4. As China’s second attempt to launch a spaceplane, the experimental vehicle flew at a higher altitude and for a longer period of time than its predecessor.
Shortly after it launched, the spaceplane stayed at an orbit of about 215 miles by 369 miles (346 kilometers by 593 kilometers) inclined at 50 degrees above the equator. But experts monitoring its orbit noted a changed occurring on Sunday, October 23, with the spacecraft raising its orbit to a near-circular 371 by 378miles (597 by 608 kilometers), SpaceNews reported.
