Project 921-3 is a crewed spacecraft sub-system of

Project 921 The China Manned Space Program (CMS; ), also known as Project 921 () is a space program developed by the People's Republic of China and run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), designed to develop and enhance human spaceflight capabilities fo ...

. The term 921-3 is often used for the Chinese

spaceplane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly and glide like an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and maneuver like a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbital spaceplanes ten ...

program.

History

The Chinese National Manned Space Program was given the designation of Project 921 in 1992. This broad project was divided into three phases: 921-1 to launch a crewed mission by 2002 in a craft that became the Shenzhou, the Project 921-2 temporary space station by 2010, and the 921-3 permanent space station by 2020. Care must be taken not to confuse the three phases of Project 921 with its seven sub-systems (921-1, 921-2 ... 921-7). Early planning of Project 921 included six different proposals for a crewed space transportation system. Five of these proposals were of a space-Earth transportation system using a delta winged orbiter. By 1990, the proposal for the

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис� ...

-like capsule Shenzhou had won out. Some small models for a

were made public, but the concept was rejected in favor of a Soyuz-like capsule which became Shenzhou. Concepts for a space shuttle now are only studies. There is no known Chinese government support beyond very basic research for a spaceplane. Photographs of a two-seat spaceplane simulator were published after 1980, probably belonging to a Chinese

Dynasoar The Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar ("Dynamic Soarer") was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including aerial reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite maintena ...

-like vehicle. Reports of the existence of a wind tunnel model have continued since then.

869 Project

After 1986 the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

starts its 869 Project regarding spaceplane concepts. Up to 1990, the several space-shuttle proposals studied were:http://www.strategycenter.net/docLib/20111024_ChinasSpacePlaneProgram.pdf * Tianjiao-1 space shuttle, proposed by

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is a major state-owned civilian and military space launch vehicle manufacturer in China and one of the major launch service providers in the world. CALT is a subsidiary of the larger China Ae ...

. Totally dependent on the parent rocket booster to reach orbit. 25-ton orbiter, 2-ton payload. * Chang Cheng-1 (Great Wall-1) space shuttle, proposed by the

Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), it is referred to as ''The Eighth Academy'' of CASC. The agency was established in Augus ...

and 640 Institute of the Air Ministry. 94-ton orbiter launched atop 3 parallel HT-1 SLVs to a 200–500 km orbit. 5-ton payload and maximum of 5 crew members. * V-2 rocket plane, proposed by the 11th Aeronautics Institute; * H-2 spaceplane, proposed by

Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute (; or 601 Institute) is a Chinese aircraft design institute of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, specializing in the design of military aircraft.611 Aircraft Design Institute;

Shenlong Test Platform

The latest models shown in 2000 reveal a delta winged

with a single vertical stabilizer, equipped with three high-expansion engines. Presuming a seating arrangement of two crew members siting side-by-side in the cockpit, dimensions could be very roughly estimated as a wingspan of 8 m, a length of 12 m and a total mass of 12 tonnes. This is within the payload capability of the Chinese

CZ-2E The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket from the Long March 2 family. The Long March 2E was a three-stage carrier rocket that was designed to launch commercial communications sat ...

(A) or Type A launch vehicles.

HTS Maglev Launch Assist Technology

During the 2006

Zhuhai Airshow China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () or Zhuhai Airshow (), is the largest airshow and aerospace trade expo in China. It has been held in even years in Zhuhai, Guangdong since 1996. Hist ...

, pictures of a totally new space vehicle developed by the

Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Beihang University, previously known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), abbreviated as BUAA or Beihang ( zh, c=北航, p=), is a national public research university located in Beijing, China, specializing in engineering, t ...

(北京航空航天大学) were published. This new Chinese space shuttle was based on the HTS (

High Temperature Superconductor High-temperature superconductors (abbreviated high-c or HTS) are defined as materials that behave as superconductors at temperatures above , the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The adjective "high temperature" is only in respect to previou ...

)

Maglev Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation''), is a system of train transportation that uses two sets of electromagnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, taking advantage ...

Launch Assist Technology for Space Flight Vehicle (航天运载器高温超导磁悬浮助推发射技术), with an initial take off speed of 1000 km/h.

Reusable launch vehicle

Concept proposed by

. A 140-ton, 32-metre-length orbiter launched atop a

Long March 5 Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle ...

rocket with a payload of 7 tons.

Shenlong Spaceplane

Images of an aerodynamic scaled model, ready to be launched from under the fuselage of a

H-6K The Xian H-6 () is a twin-engine jet bomber of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The H-6 is a license-built version of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 and remains the primary bomber aircraft of the People's Republic of China. Del ...

bomber, were first published in the Chinese media on 11 December 2007. Code named Project 863-706, the Chinese name of this spacecraft was revealed as “神龙”空天飞机 or "Shenlong Space Plane", meaning Divine Dragon in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. These images, possibly taken in late 2005, show the vehicle's black reentry heat shielding, indicating a reusable design, and its engine assembly. First sub-orbital flight of the Shenlong reportedly took place on 8 January 2011. Earlier, images of the High-enthalpy Shock Waves Laboratory

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

of the

CAS Cas may refer to: * Caș, a type of cheese made in Romania * ' (1886–) Czech magazine associated with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk * '' Čas'' (19 April 1945–February 1948), the official, daily newspaper of the Democratic Party of Slovakia * ''CA ...

Key Laboratory of high-temperature gas dynamics Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

(LHD) were published in the Chinese media. Test with speed up to Mach 20 where reached around 2001. , the

academician

Zhuang Fenggan Zhuang may refer to: *Zhuang people (or Bouxcuengh people), ethnic group in China *Zhuang languages *Zhuang logogram *Zhuang Zhou, ancient Chinese philosopher *Zhuang (surname) Zhuang is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written in ...

(莊逢甘) said that a first test flight of the spaceplane would be conducted during the " Eleventh Five-Year Plan", meaning from 2006 to 2010.

Hypersonic Vehicle

According to 'informal sources', another hypersonic vehicle has been tested, which is equivalent to the X-43.

Tengyun

Tengyun is a reusable

project unveiled in 2016 by

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation The China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) is a Chinese state-owned enterprise that designs, develops and manufactures a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment ...

. The spaceplane is composed of two planes, with the larger aircraft acting as a carrier aircraft. A small scale model was shown at the Zhuhai Airshow 2018.

References

External links

* http://www.strategycenter.net/docLib/20111024_ChinasSpacePlaneProgram.pdf {{Spaceplanes Crewed spacecraft Partially reusable space launch vehicles Spaceplanes Space launch vehicles of China Rocket-powered aircraft Tailless delta-wing aircraft