China plans to test its own reusable space launch vehicles in 2020, with an ultimate goal of decreasing the current space transportation cost by 90 percent, as well as reducing the time for launch preparations.
"The launch of our reusable space vehicles will take place in 2020, after which more tests and experiments will be carried out. The space vehicles are designed to be reused for over 20 times, reducing transportation costs by 90 percent," Chen Hongbo, director of the research center at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told the Science and Technology Daily.
Chen also noted that the preparation time for the launch of a traditional rocket may take as long as several months, while the reusable space vehicles are expected to be launched within a day.
"Compared to other reusable space vehicles, for instance, America's Falcon 9, our vehicles can recover two stages of the rocket, while currently only the first stage of the Falcon 9 can be retrieved," Chen added.
According to Science and Technology Daily, China is set to complete all research projects and tests regarding reusable space launch technologies and is expected to be the first country in the world that can realize the full reusability of space launch vehicles.
