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China Has a Copycat Space Plane — and Experts Are Keeping an Eye on It

Nov. 12, 2012 2:10pm Liz Klimas

The U.S. Air Force, since the retirement of the country’s space shuttle program, has been in the spotlight more for the secretive missions of its X-37B mini-shuttle, which is an unmanned aerial vehicle that functions in orbit around Earth. Some speculate that China took note of this plane and created their own called Shenlong.

“Shenlong is China’s effort to develop a re-entering aerodynamic spacecraft, similar to the space shuttle or the X-37B but much smaller than either,” said Mark Gubrud, a postdoctoral research associate in the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University, according to Space.com.

Chinas Shenlong Space Plane Seen as Evidence of Smaller Gap Between U.S. Releasing Prototype and China Copying

China’s Shelong, seen below the bomber plane, on a 2007 test flight. (Image: Chinese internet via Space.com)

To Gubrud, both the U.S. and China’s efforts on the realm of space planes are more a show of power than of any else:

“[...] the economic rationale for the [NASA] shuttle was never realized, and it is not clear what advantages the X-37B offers the U.S. military over conventional upper stages, satellite buses and re-entry capsules,” Gubrud said. The Air Force’s robotic plane would appear to serve the U.S. primarily as a sign that American space power endures despite retirement of the NASA space shuttle fleet, he said.

“Appropriately enough, Shenlong may also be little more than a symbol of China’s ability to challenge U.S. assumptions of primacy and technological dominance,” Gubrud said.

Joan Johnson-Freese, a national security affairs professor at the U.S. Naval War College, would agree to an extent.

“If countries see the U.S. working on a space plane, they will feel compelled to do so, also,” Johnson-Freese said.

The Air Force’s X-37B is larger than China’s Shelong. (Image: Wikimedia)

Still, she would caution hyping the technology’s use. Johnson-Freese told Space.com that the technology “could be destabilizing as it pushes countries to act faster in fear of potential threats.” Some have made claims that such technology could be used for spy purposes or to bring weapons to space.

Overall, Space.com reported China watchdogs believing that the copy-catting is evidence of a smaller time-frame being seen between when the U.S. shows off a prototype and China making its own. In fact, we’ve already seen another instance of this. TheBlaze reported in June similarities that were noted between the U.S.’s F-22 Raptor and China’s J-20 stealth fighter.

Even if it is a case of keeping up with the Jones, Space.com reported China analysts Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins writing on the website SignPost that China’s efforts are not something that should be written off:

“Beijing’s development of space plane programs is broad-based, and their trajectory will represent a key barometer of its civil and military space intentions.”

The Air Force’s X-37B was set to re-launch into orbit on Nov. 2, but this mission was delayed due to a glitch. Space.com in a separate post reported that it is rescheduled for Nov. 27 launch. The X-37B was developed by Boeing as an orbital test vehicle that will conduct space experiments and be involved in “risk reduction and concept of operations development.” Watch this video about the X-37B:

Read more analysts details of China’s Shenlong here.

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Comments (16)

media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on November 19, 2012 at 7:06am
I wonder where they got the money to build it President Obama?

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ObserverOnTheHill
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 7:10am
Did Bill Clinton sell them the plans ?

watch the youtube interview of Soviet propaganda defector named Yuri Bezmenov. Done with G. Edward Griffin ( The Creature From Jekyll Island author ) it was done in the 1980′s !! and he lays out how the communists would bring America down. This was just one of the many ways they have been using for a hundred years. You’ll be amazed after watching to realize how incredibly successful they have been infiltrating our institutions of schools, churches, courts, government , businesses, unions and even the military etc; to twist the thinking in this country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3qkf3bajd4

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Silvertruth
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:02pm
The technology has clear uses, it’s silly to speculate it doesn’t or is just for fun. The military doesn’t have millions invested in it for giggles. China also clearly understands the need for the technology.

This article is rather foamy and of little substance.

The real question is why has US technology failed to produce a full fledged space plane. I mean, if Burt Rutan can make a multi-stage, non-orbital vehicle for less than 30 million dollars, we should really wonder why NASA can’t make an orbital version for just a little more.

My working theory is that NASA is too busy trying to find out how to treat Muslim’s and prove Global Climate Change models. I mean heaven forbid they let the State Department and NOAA do their jobs. At least they make a mean rover… too bad it doesn’t bark, but hey, they are working on the ‘fetch’ part.

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lessoneleg
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:54pm
china’s spying agency is so pervasive and unrelenting. Massive numbers of Mainland Chinese Students flood into western world univesity and colleges. Do you honestly believe that every Chinese Student is here as an exchange student or Foreign payer university student.Like come on man. I’ve read that a Computer Science Building in China has at least a thousand or more Computer Science masters graduates all working 24 hours per day hacking foreign government or foreign company computers. 24 hours a day hacking, seven days a week, 365 days per year, hacking.
Then, if you couple together Chinese Business Ministry, its sole interest is to buy foreign companies, buy all their copywrites, and patents, all it’s secret notes and ledgers. And then ship all the information back to Mainland Chinese Communist Management Teams to leaf through.
So the US Airforce plane looks eirily similar with the Chinese plane, well no wonder, the Chinese own the parent company who supplied the carbon skin and instrumentation. There probably isn’t a part on the US Plane or Spacecraft not owned by the parent company owner, the Chinese Communist Party.

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Bodacious_Boedi
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:21pm
I look at the Chinese entry and the only word that comes to mind is “steampunk”!!

It looks like something I saw in an old b&w Commander Cody serial.

I won’t berate the Chinese for their accomplishments, but like the former Soviets they’re taking dangerous shortcuts and grandstanding in near earth orbit. Talk to me when they get an egg roll on the moon or launch something that lands, functional, on Mars.

They’re working through the sixties, space program wise, and we’re studying data from Curiosity that we just put on Mars. Worried about ICBM’s? We invented that game too and now have ways to defeat the scenarios.

You people need to keep the faith!

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Mr Sanders
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:18pm
The US developes it…. everyone else copies it.

We do the research, they shortcut the process, procure the results, apply it, which saves them considerably in development costs, and gets the system operational in half the time.

If Intelligence could create a fantasy program that promises so much whilst creating catastrophic results for the recipient…. that would be a great propaganda campaign indeed.

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Metalstr8jckt
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:11pm
Alarm Bells should be ringing (Defcon 4) Less than five years ago China launched and returned a man in their “Divine Vessel” space craft. Last summer, they launched two men and a woman in a vehicle and performed space walks outside of it. They are also constructing a Space station to be launched into orbit in the near future. The size of the craft slung underneath the body of their plane does not matter(Smaller than the American X plane, is irrelevant) The point, is that they are making BIG jumps and skipping over decades of needless developmental errors and retries.

Their Quantum leap in Aerospace development is Right on America’s Azz. We should be extremely worried.

In 10 years, they have gone from being ridiculed by us “Because they make the toys in our Happy meals at McD’s” Into creating a huge military Industrial complex, using all the profits from the cheap crapp the send to us, to build a modern effective, dangerous war machine.

Any laughter by people on here of naysayers to “Chinese” capabilities or the quality of their rockets is foolish racism at it’s worst.

All their heavy launch vehicle placed into orbit in the past 6 plus years were returned without a failure. That is 100% efficiency folks.

That also means any ICBM they point at America, has the same proven capabilities. Understand now? (Of note; China has had Nuclear weapons for over forty years. They are on par with Russia for 100% functionality of any MIRV system warheads they place

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lefty5005
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:33am
It is relevant in that the United States has pretty much invented anything and everything that is worth having in this world and the asians and Europeans just copy it and sometimes make it better. The Russians just make a lousy copy and most steal the concepts.
Read about Eli Whitney sometimes, the cotton gin was just the start. A truly brilliant man.
We do all the research and bring to life drugs that save lives or make lives better, charge the Americans the most for them and cheap them out to the rest of the world. Shouldn’t the opposite be the case Mr Merck/Lily/ Glaxo/Pfizer, etc.

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on November 12, 2012 at 11:16pm
Between obama and clinton,…I am surprised we have any secrets left.

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ColoradoMaverick
Posted on November 12, 2012 at 8:25pm
The nose looks like they stole it from a B-17

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- Singer-john
  Posted on November 12, 2012 at 8:33pm
  Apetition!
  
  ————————————————
  
  Dear friends,
  
  I wanted to let you know about a new petition I created on We the People,
  a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support. Will you add your
  name to mine? If this petition gets 25,000 signatures by December 12, 2012,
  the White House will review it and respond!
  
  We the People allows anyone to create and sign petitions asking the Obama
  Administration to take action on a range of issues. If a petition gets
  enough support, the Obama Administration will issue an official response.
  
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  Here’s some more information about this petition:
  
  Please help me find my human being identity,I seemed lost my humam
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  A decade ago
  
  Report this comment
- G-WHIZ
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 10:42am
  …the WONG-BROTHERS! :-)
  
  Report this comment
- asybot12
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 6:57pm
  It is actually copy (or bought by them) a Russian “badger” bomber. (Tu-15 or 16)
  
  Report this comment
Netsurfer2
Posted on November 12, 2012 at 7:38pm
With Bill Gates creating his little Microsoft community of Indian’s from India (in-sourcing) and Boeing Hiring many Russian Engineering designers, it makes me wonder what is next? You can bet they go home to their other country with ideas, tools and techniques for in building their countries military!

Our kids don’t seem to want in learning and are so spoiled, lazy and lack practical judgement in making a decent life! I really don’t see much hope for the young in the future being how our school systems have brought their ideas on our children with enviornmentalism, twisted history learning and basic sciences (including math, chemistry, and physics)!

It’s OK to pay the teachers more and not hold them accountable! It’s OK to shove money into supplies, books that teach what the teachers want in their ideas and political thinking! In the work place you dare not speak anything you believe in or talk about government, but you can say your gay or that you are all for drugs! That is the norm! Less rights for you and more rights for criminals, sex offenders, gay pride and drug addicts! While they slowly chip away at our rights, it’s no wonder why so many people want to leave the United States and form their own in other States! Many people are sick of this agenda being pushed down their throats and it will sooner or later erupt into a very serious matter! I don’t blame the decent normal people!

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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:54pm
Obama is giving all this technology away. We had a 20 year advantage before he had access. It’s 100s of billions and potentially millions of lives. Both are wonderful outcomes for the progressive (communist, Globalist elites)

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KIOTI-TEXAS
Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:32pm
They will Steal anything and we are giving all our techlogin to them to steal…Way to go WASHINGTON Marble BRAINS…YOU TRUST THEM,I DON’T….

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