The People's Republic of China intends to create a reusable spacecraft that will use a nuclear power plant by 2040.
According to GBTIMES, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has presented plans for the development of China's space program for the period from 2017 to 2045. One of the most ambitious projects mentioned in the roadmap is a new reusable spacecraft, which they intend to equip with a nuclear rocket engine (NRE). No detailed information was provided on the spacecraft.
A nuclear rocket engine is a type of rocket engine that uses energy from fission or nuclear fusion to create jet thrust. In different periods, scientists have proposed several designs for nuclear propulsion: gas-phase, liquid-phase, solid-phase (according to the aggregate state of nuclear fuel in the reactor core).
Scheme of the American NERVA / wikipedia
Around the same period, according to the development program, China will have to create a reusable launch vehicle that can be used for interplanetary launches. To implement such a transport system, it is proposed to use the resources mined on asteroids. At the same time, by 2035, the country intends to completely abandon disposable rockets in favor of Falcon 9 analogs. One of the tools for conquering deep space should be a launch vehicle with a carrying capacity of more than one hundred tons. They intend to create it by 2030.
Even earlier - by 2025 - the Chinese intend to build a reusable spaceplane. By 2020, the PRC wants to significantly expand its capabilities through the introduction of new missiles of the Changzheng family, in particular, due to the new and relatively inexpensive Changzheng-8 missile. We will remind, earlier it was also reported about the development in China of a promising heavy missile "Changzheng-9" and solid-propellant "Changzheng-11".
Start Changzheng-5 / Rosbalt
The end result of the implementation of all aspects of the announced program should be the world leadership of the PRC in the conquest of space. It should be noted, however, that there are no guarantees that the deadlines for the implementation of the main stages of the ambitious plan will not be postponed.
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Earlier, we recall, we reported that NASA allocated 67 million for an ion engine for flights to Mars. US engineers intend to create ion engines, the thrust of which will exceed the corresponding indicators of existing analogues at least several times. This will give NASA fundamentally new opportunities.
Ilya Vedmedenko