Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft

The Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft (Chinese: 可重复使用试验航天器; pinyin: Kě chóngfù shǐyòng shìyàn hángtiān qì; lit. 'Reusable Experimental Spacecraft'; CSSHQ) is the first reusable spacecraft produced by China. It embarked upon its initial orbital mission on 4 September 2020.^[3][4][2][5] According to media reports, the CSSHQ is launched into Earth orbit in a vertical configuration while enclosed within the payload fairings of a rocket like a traditional satellite or space capsule, but it returns to Earth via a runway landing like a conventional aircraft; the landing is conducted autonomously (unlike the Space Shuttle). In the absence of any official descriptions of the spacecraft or photographic depictions thereof, some observers have speculated that the CSSHQ may resemble the X-37B spaceplane of the United States in both form and function.^[6][7]