China designed aircraft to take passengers to visit the universe

The upcoming Chinese aircraft can carry 20 passengers to the edge of the universe, the largest of all commercial aircraft with the same function so far.

According to New Scientist, the No. 1 Chinese Aviation Engineering Institute in Beijing succeeded in expanding the design of monolithic spaceflight to bring more passengers to the edge of the universe, rocket scientist Lui Haiguang announced at the IAC International Astronaut Conference from September 26-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

This Chinese product has to compete with many competitors such as SpaceShipTwo, which can carry six people from British aerospace company Virgin Galactic, or Lynx flying equipment that can carry two people from the rocket engine manufacturing company. American XCOR aviation, or capsule-type spacecraft can carry 6 passengers of American company Blue Origin.

Chinese aerospace design.(Photo: Han Pengxin).

Han Pengxin, the leader of China's research team and colleagues, believes that the product is highly competitive because it has a large capacity, meeting people's increasing demand for space flight.

This aircraft is a winged rocket capable of self-propelled by its own engine, unlike SpaceShipTwo that needs to be lifted up before using its missiles.

"The plane will take off vertically like a rocket and automatically land on the runway without interference from the plane or the ground," Han said. "It will use methane and liquid oxygen fuel."

Han's group has two aircraft versions.The first one weighs 10 tons, has a wingspan of 6m, can carry 5 people, maximum acceleration to Mach 6 ((7408km / h) when reaching a height of 100km, reaching the edge of the universe. will turn off the engine and maintain the weightless state for two minutes, then land on Earth.

The expanded version has a volume of 100 tons, a 12-meter wingspan, can carry 20 people to a height of 130km, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 8 (9878km / h) and maintaining 4 minutes in a weightless state . This version can help put small satellites into orbit, with the help of a small rocket mounted on the plane. They also intend to build aircraft that can be used many times, about 50 times.

Map of Chinese planes for space flight.(Photo: Pengxin Han).

"The test flights will be conducted over the next two years, since most of the underground tests are done, and every aircraft system works very well," Han said.

He predicts aircraft will be able to be used for cargo from 2020 and carry people after being judged safe enough, with a cost of between $ 200,000 and $ 250,000 per trip.

However, some people are skeptical about the feasibility of the project."The most suspicious thing is that they think it is possible to bring 20 people to a level higher than 100km with a missile without a mother ship and separate the floor to fire, reuse 50 times," Roger Launius, Mechanical specialist Aviation authorities and the US National Space Museum based in Smithsonian, Washington, said. "They did not explain in detail the design and assembly process."

"Drawing on paper and imagining is always easier than creating and operating spacecraft," he commented.