China Says Its Autonomous Spacecraft Has Flown

Numerous reports over the weekend indicate that both Russia and China are working on autonomous spacecraft similar to the X-37B launched and recovered by the U.S. Air Force last year.

X-37B File Image

The blog Defense Talk and the Canadian Press report that Russia's Space Minister Oleg Ostapenko has been quoted in Russian news agencies as saying they have a spacecraft similar to the X-37B in development, but that the work is preliminary. He would not say when, or even if, the spacecraft would fly, but that "everyone must remember that there is always a counteraction to any action."

China, on the other hand, claims to have launched a version of the space plane. An article in the blog sUAS news cites the China Review website in Hong Kong, which had posted an article claiming that the Chinese version of the spacecraft had flown at about the same time as the U.S. tests. There has been no confirmation from any mainland China sources. One news channel reportedly showed photographs of a spacecraft nearly identical to the X-37B being assembled in China, which Chinese military analysts say will be the foundation of a Chinese space warfare system.

FMI: http://eng.mod.gov.cn, www.mil.ru/eng