Chinese provider of space mission launch services, Beijing Lingkong Tianxing Technology, also known as Space Transportation, announced that it is developing a ‘space plane’ for high-speed ‘point-to-point transportation,’ that would take off vertically, detach itself from a glider wing with rocket boosters and, after making a suborbital trip, land vertically on three deployable legs.
“We are developing a winged rocket for high-speed, point-to-point transportation, which is lower in cost than rockets that carry satellites and faster than traditional aircraft,” the company said.
The new aircraft would aim to provide rapid transport between two locations on Earth through suborbital travel and will be fully reusable.
Space Transportation representatives were quoted as saying that a flight from Beijing a New York City would only take one hour with the new ‘space plane.’
The company expects ground booster tests to occur in 2023 and the first flight the following year. The space plane is anticipated to perform a manned flight in 2025 and is targeted to carry out a global crewed space test flight by the end of the decade.
