A Chinese experimental spacecraft returned to Earth on Monday after remaining in orbit for 276 days, Chinese state media reported, completing a historic mission to test reusable technologies in space.
The unmanned spacecraft returned as scheduled to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, media said.
According to the Reuters news agency, there were no details on what the spacecraft was, the techniques tested and how high it had flown since its launch in early August 2022. No photos of the vehicle were released to the public.
State media reported that the spacecraft's tests marked a "significant" breakthrough in China's research into reusable spacecraft technology that will provide a convenient and inexpensive way for future space missions.
In 2021, a similar spacecraft launched to the edge of space and returned to Earth the same day on a mission that was also largely secret, Ritters says. The spacecraft landed on Earth "horizontally," according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the main contractor for China's space program.
Chinese social media commentators have speculated that Beijing is developing a spacecraft like the U.S. Air Force's X-37B, an unmanned spaceplane that could remain in orbit for years.
The unmanned and reusable X-37B returned to Earth in November last year for its sixth and final mission after more than 900 days in orbit.