China’s experimental spacecraft launched from the Jiuquan Launch Center in August. Photo: FCHNA (AP)
Space News: China’s spaceplane raises orbit and national funding
HELSINKI — A spaceplane launched by China in August has performed an orbit-raising maneuver and recently secured new funding to promote new modes of transportation.
The “reusable experiment spacecraft” launched from Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert atop of a Long March 2F rocket Aug. 4.
It has spent most of its 82 days in an orbit similar to the 346 by 593-kilometer orbit inclined by 50 degrees initially tracked by the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (18 SDS).
Robert Christy of Orbital Focus noted a change in the orbit occurred Oct. 23, with the spacecraft raising its perigee to shift to a near-circular 597 by 608-kilometer orbit.
Read more ....
Update: China's Mysterious Spaceplane Raises Orbit Nearly 3 Months After Launch (Gizmodo)
WNU Editor: America's X-37B space plane is still in orbit (link here).