China unveils it’s first reusable Satellite

China’s first reusable satellite was launched Friday evening, the China National Space Administration said.
Quoting a CNSA statement, a Long March 2D carrier rocket put the Shijian 19 satellite in its working orbit at 6:30 PM Friday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, the administration said.

The Shijian 19 is one of the satellites developed by the China Academy of Space Technology to be utilized in the space-based mutation breeding programs and flight tests on domestically produced materials and electronic components. It will improve operations for research in microgravity physics and life sciences, as well as enhance seed development for plants. It further loads scientific payloads from five countries: Thailand and Pakistan.

China entered history books in 1975 by launching its first recoverable satellite, thereby making it the third country in the world, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to do so. Since then, it launched almost 30 of such spacecraft, which enabled hundreds of space-based tests and experiments to be conducted. However, those satellites were one-time use, that is, sent straight to a gravesite without being recovered after the payloads were taken aboard.

Microgravity conditions in space have proved to be ideal for carrying out the experiments of various types, hence making recoverable satellites the ideal launching platforms for this type of research. Carried out in space, the space experiments have drastically led to the development of new materials, electronic components, and biomedicines.

The launch of the Shijian 19 will be considered as a significant step for China as it has proven its capability of creating reusable satellites, through which huge costs would be saved and efficiency would be enhanced.

Chinese space companies, state-owned and private contractors, compete to produce reusable space vehicles. Until now, some kinds of reusable rockets were developed, with multiple tests of flight taking place on such innovations.