Space Plane
It s not known if the vehicle on the rocket was a prototype space plane designed to one day carry humans or something more similar to the u s.
Space plane. The first orbital dream chaser space plane recently got its wings and a name. The diminutive space plane is designed to. The spaceplane s dimensions are known.
China may have landed a new space plane on sept. Project officials have revealed that the x 37b s maneuvering engine runs on hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide and that it uses a different kind of thermal protection than nasa s space shuttle did. Air force s mysterious x 37b unmanned space plane dropped out of orbit and landed safely on the same runway that the space shuttle once.
Like the space shuttle the solar powered x 37b space plane launches vertically with the aid of a rocket and cruises back to earth for a runway landing. All spaceplanes to date have been rocket powered but then landed as unpowered gliders. Orbital spaceplanes are more like spacecraft while sub orbital spaceplanes are more like fixed wing aircraft.
The boeing x 37 also known as the orbital test vehicle otv is a reusable robotic spacecraft. China has launched and recovered a reusable spacecraft an important step in the country s space program state media reported sunday. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle then re enters earth s atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane.
The x 37 is operated by the united states space force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. After a record breaking 780 days circling the earth the u s. Dream chaser which is built by colorado based company sierra nevada corp is the world s only non capsule private.
Three types of spaceplane have successful. Air force s x 37b space plane itself used for. To do so spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft occupying an intermediate space between the two.