China's First Commercial Uncrewed Spaceplane Unveiled

By Gerry Doyle

SINGAPORE/ZHUHAI, China (Reuters) – State-owned aerospace company AVIC unveiled China's first commercial uncrewed spaceplane at the country's biggest air show in Zhuhai on Tuesday, with a mission of supplying the Chinese space station.

A model of the craft, dubbed Haoloong-1, or Sky Dragon, was on display at the company's air show exhibition site. Although the spaceplane is still in development, the company stated that it could further reduce the cost of taking cargo out of Earth's atmosphere.

State-controlled media outlet China Daily highlighted that the craft brought "a low-cost reusable cargo shuttle solution with Chinese characteristics to space exploration." The China Manned Space Agency awarded the spaceplane a contract for engineering flight verification on Oct. 29, according to the outlet.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics noted that the project could provide essential technology experience for developing crewed spaceplanes in the future.

Spaceplanes, which launch atop a rocket booster and return to Earth as gliders landing on conventional runways, are regarded as efficient designs for reusable spacecraft. The retired U.S. Space Shuttle employed a complex heat-dissipation system to manage reentry friction at extreme speeds. In contrast, modern designs can utilize simpler heat shields made from advanced materials that are lighter and more maintainable.

The Shuttle's role in carrying astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) is now filled by SpaceX's Dragon, and Russian Soyuz and Progress capsules. Furthermore, U.S. company Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane recently received a NASA contract to deliver cargo to orbit.

For years, China has been operating a military spaceplane capable of long-duration missions in orbit, although details on its functionality remain largely undisclosed. Experts believe its capability to deploy and retrieve items from orbit, such as small satellites, could hold significant military importance.

Similarly, the U.S. operates its military spaceplane, the Boeing X-37B, which has maintained extensive orbital missions at altitudes reaching 38,000 kilometers.

Since launching the first modules of its space station into orbit in 2021, China has sent eight crews to the station. In contrast, the ISS has been orbiting for 25 years and more persistently occupied since 2000.

The air show in Zhuhai runs from Tuesday to Nov. 17.