Mysterious Chinese Spacecraft Lands on Earth After 276 Days

A reusable experimental spacecraft on Monday returned to its landing site in northwest China after 276 days in orbit.

The uncrewed mission—led by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC)—ended this week, as planned, at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency(Opens in a new window).

“The success of the experiment marks an important breakthrough in China’s research on reusable spacecraft technologies,” Xinhua reported. “Which will provide more convenient and affordable round-trip methods for the peaceful use of space in the future.”

Considering China’s highly classified approach to its experimental rocket, it’s no surprise there are currently no public details about the type of spacecraft, its flight altitude and orbital path, or what technologies were tested following a launch in early August 2022(Opens in a new window) from the Gobi Desert. Images of the ship, which lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center atop a Long March 2F rocket last autumn, have not yet been released.

Once in low Earth orbit, the capsule released into orbit a small satellite(Opens in a new window), US Space Force tracking data revealed last year. The object reportedly operated in close proximity to the spacecraft,b ut it’s unclear what the item is—perhaps a spaceplane monitor or service module—and whether it, too, returned to Earth.

China, like the US and other space-faring nations, is testing reusable technology as a more convenient and inexpensive way to visit the solar system. But unlike most other countries, China is staying tight-lipped about its extraterrestrial experiment.

In a mission that was also largely kept under wraps, another, possibly similar spacecraft flew in 2021 to the edge of the cosmos and back on the same day, Reuters reports(Opens in a new window), adding that it landed on Earth “horizontally.”