Thanks to the work that companies such as Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX are carrying out, many are the private companies that are realizing the enormous potential that starting to offer space flights to tourists can have. Because it is not surprising that in China they begin to work on a project where it is expected to develop a space plane.
As confirmed by New Scientist, the Beijing Vehicle Launch Technology Academy, a private company backed by the Chinese state itself, is developing a commercial aircraft that will have the capacity to carry a total of up to 20 passengers to destinations outside our planet.
As a detail, tell you that we are not talking about an immature project. An example of this is that the first designs have already been presented at the International Astronautical Congress that took place a few weeks ago in Guadalajara (Mexico). Among its most interesting features, it should be noted that the plane consists of a single piece that can be extended to accommodate more passengers.
A private Chinese company is in the process of developing a tourist space plane.
As the manufacturer of this project himself has commented, the space plane will be the model that more people can transport inside the planet. As a detail, tell you that we are basically talking about a winged rocket It will be able to take off vertically on its own, while a completely autonomous pilot will be used for landing.
At the moment the company already has two designs for this peculiar aircraft. For one place we find a model of about 6 meters high and 10 tons of weight with the capacity to transport 5 people at an altitude of 100 kilometers at speeds of Mach 6 giving two minutes of weightlessness.
Secondly, we find an aircraft whose wingspan grows to 12 meters with a weight of 100 tons. Thanks to these dimensions the capacity grows to 20 people that they will be able to fly at an altitude of 130 kilometers at Mach 8 which will grant them up to four minutes of weightlessness.
Further information: New Scientist