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China successfully launched its top-secret unmanned spacecraft on Thursday night, which the head of the US Space Force said was “no coincidence.”
The United States had planned to launch its ‘espionage’ plan on Wednesday, but the mission was grounded due to technical problems.
“It’s probably not a coincidence that they’re trying to match us in the timing and sequencing of this,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s chief of space operations.
An announcement in the Chinese press described the space plane’s purpose as providing “technical support for the peaceful use of space,” but the nation has kept the details secret, as have U.S. officials about its craft.
China successfully launched its top-secret unmanned spacecraft, the Asian superpower’s answer to the US Space Force’s X-37B unmanned covert spaceplane, into orbit for the third time last Thursday. Its purpose: ‘technical support for the peaceful use of space’
But the current Chief of Space Operations for the US Space Force, General Chance Saltzman (above), told reporters that the timing seemed linked to the cancellation of the US plan to relaunch the X-37B back into space for another classified mission last Monday.
“These are the two most frequently observed objects in orbit while in orbit,” Saltzman told reporters Wednesday after problems with a SpaceX rocket scuttled Monday’s planned X-37B launch.
Speaking at the Space Force Association’s Space Power Conference in Orlando, General Saltzman emphasized the sophistication of these reusable, unmanned orbital spy craft, which can offer greater operational security than spy satellites.
“The ability to put something into orbit, do a few things, bring it home and see the results is powerful,” Saltzman said.
“It’s no surprise that the Chinese are very interested in our space plane,” he said. “And we’re very interested in theirs.”
However, despite years of promotional photos of Boeing’s US-designed X-37B covert spacecraft, no images of its Chinese rival have been leaked to the public.
The closest the media has come to seeing the craft, called the Chinese Reusable Experimental Spacecraft, or CSSHQ, was likely footage from a display at Henan Jiyuan No. 1 Middle School in China in August 2022.
The video of the exhibition, an open-air display of a crashed Long March 2F rocket responsible for launching CSSHQ into orbit, was broadcast by aerospace industry observers searching for clues to their former covert espionage payload.
Images of the Long March 2F wreckage, recovered from CSSHQ’s second launch, reinforced rumors that the rocket’s payload capacity of nearly eight metric tons would indicate CSSHQ is similar in size to the X-37B, according to SpaceNews.
He video appeared first on the Chinese social media site Sina Weibo, then on TikTok, YouTube and X.
The closest the media has come to seeing China’s secret spacecraft, called the Chinese Reusable Experimental Spacecraft, or CSSHQ, has likely been images of a high school display in China in 2022, published first on the site Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, then X (above)
This Thursday’s CSSHQ launch comes on the heels of its last covert mission seven months ago: a 276-day long operation that began on August 4, 2022.
By comparison, CSSHQ’s first launch, in September 2020, lasted just two days.
According to a report by Chinese news agency Xinhua, this third launch aims to carry out ‘verification of reusable technology’ and ‘space science experiments’ as part of ‘technical support for the peaceful use of space’.
The launch of the CSSHQ encased in a Long March 2F rocket occurred at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, based in northwest China.
The US Space Force ‘spy’ space shuttle
The X-37B, once a US Air Force project, can theoretically carry weapons into space, possibly to defend US satellites against anti-satellite weapons. China and Russia have accused the United States of using the ship as a bomber. X-37B has been carrying out its classified missions since 2010
The original purpose of the Long March 2F was to transport Chinese astronaut crews headed to Earth orbit, but the rocket has been modified to carry China’s unmanned robotic spaceplane as payload.
SpaceX was due to launch the X-37B as part of a classified mission on Monday, but was forced to pull out minutes before takeoff.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the covert spacecraft was scheduled to lift off at 8:14 p.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
But a “ground problem” reported that the mission was canceled at the last moment.
“Withdrawing from tonight’s Falcon Heavy launch due to a ground issue,” a statement from SpaceX said.
‘The vehicle and payload are maintained in good condition. The team is resetting for the next launch opportunity for the USSF-52 mission, which will be no earlier than tomorrow night.
Monday’s mission would have been the secretive X-37B’s seventh since its debut in 2010, and most of the ship’s payload is classified.
In theory, the X-37B can carry weapons into space, possibly to defend US satellites against anti-satellite weapons.
While China and Russia have accused the United States of using the ship as a bomber, other experts have speculated that the Space Force ship is used to conduct espionage missions: monitoring Chinese space operations or testing American reconnaissance systems.