China successfully launches a pilot reusable spacecraft, state media report

Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying Shenzhou-14 spacecraft and three astronauts, takes off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
The Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft and three astronauts, takes off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to build China's space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China June 5, 2022. cnsphoto via REUTERS

SHANGHAI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - China successfully launched a pilot reusable spacecraft with its Long March-2F carrier rocket on Friday, state media CCTV reported.

The unidentified spacecraft, which was launched from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, will return to a planned landing site after operating in the orbit for some time to provide technical validations for reuses, CCTV said.

China said it made a big step towards developing reusable space transportation technology as it launched a spacecraft which returned to Earth on the same day after flying to the edge of the atmosphere in July. read more

Reporting by Zhang Yan, Ryan Woo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

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