China launched a reusable experimental spacecraft into orbit on Saturday, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua. The vehicle rode aloft on a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country’s northwest.
Xinhua said the mission is intended to carry out technological verification for reusable spacecraft and to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space. The agency did not specify how long the craft will remain in orbit, and the report offered no further detail on which technologies were tested or the altitude reached during the flight.
The launch is the fourth time China has sent a reusable spacecraft into orbit since 2020. Xinhua recounted the earlier missions: the first reusable experimental spacecraft flew in September 2020 and remained in orbit for two days. A later vehicle launched in August 2022 returned to Earth in May 2023 after spending 276 days in orbit. Most recently, Xinhua said in its account that a spacecraft launched from the Jiuquan facility in September 2024 returned to its designated landing site after 268 days in orbit.
State commentary noted that developing reusable spacecraft is viewed as a key step toward increasing flight frequency and lowering the per-mission cost of spaceflight. Beyond that characterization, the report did not provide technical specifications of the vehicle, test objectives, or precise mission parameters for the latest flight.
Because official reporting did not include a mission duration or list of tested technologies, independent assessment of the flight’s technical outcomes is limited by available information. The lack of disclosed altitude or systems tested means that observers must rely on future official updates for a fuller understanding of what capabilities were validated during this mission.
Background provided by state reporting
Xinhua's account supplied the sequence of prior reusable missions and their orbital durations but left unspecified the detailed technical content of the flights. The agency framed the effort as technological verification aimed at the peaceful use of space, without attaching a timeline for further disclosure about this specific mission.