It recently became known that China intends to revive the space shuttle, and now the project of the reusable autonomous space shuttle HaoLong-1 (Haolong-1) to supply the Tiangong space station has been presented. The goal of the project is to reduce the cost of transporting payloads to the space station.
Image source: CCTV
The space shuttle HaoLong-1 is being developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It is one of two winning designs in China’s Manned Spaceflight Agency CMSA’s call for proposals to develop low-cost cargo spacecraft.
China is currently using the Qingzhou robotic spacecraft to send cargo to the Tiangong space station. However, CMSA wants to create a new device capable of returning the results of space experiments and other cargo back to Earth. This cannot be done with the Qingzhou, since it burns up upon entering the atmosphere.
HaoLong-1 is planned to be launched using a launch vehicle. After completing its cargo transport mission, the shuttle will separate from the space station, deorbit autonomously, re-enter the atmosphere, and then land horizontally on an airport runway. After inspection, maintenance and repair, it will be able to perform cargo transport missions again.
The space shuttle is 10 meters long, 8 meters wide, and weighs less than half the Qingzhou capsule, which weighs 14,000 kilograms. The winged spacecraft is currently in the engineering verification phase, meaning its design and systems are tested before construction.
«The HaoLong-1 space cargo shuttle is a winged aircraft with an aerodynamic design, characterized by a large wingspan and high aerodynamic properties. With a blunt nose fuselage and large swept delta wings, it combines the characteristics of both a spacecraft and an airplane, allowing it to be launched into orbit by a rocket and land on an airport runway like an airplane,” commented HaoLong’s chief designer -1 Fang Yuanpeng.