Sitting atop the Long March-2F Y14 carrier rocket and carrying three taikonauts, China's Shenzhou-14 spaceship is launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on June 5, 2022. Photo: VCG

China on Friday successfully launched a reusable experimental spacecraft using a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest of the country, the Xinhua News Agency reported, which experts called a new step forward for China's aerospace industry.    

After a period of in-orbit operation, the spacecraft will return to its planned landing site in China. It will test reusable technologies and in-orbit service technologies during its mission, providing technological support for the peaceful use of space, Xinhua said. 

The launch was the 18th mission of the Long March-2F carrier rockets, according to Xinhua.

Reusable spacecraft represent a trend in the industry, so it is necessary for China to carry out research and development (R&D) of such spacecraft, Song Zhongping, an expert and TV commentator on military and aerospace issues, told the Global Times on Friday. 

With reference to the Xinhua report, Song said that the spacecraft launched on Friday seemed to have the capacity of in-orbit operation. 

Judging from the rocket used in the launch, the Long March-2F carrier rocket - which is one of China's most advanced rockets for manned space flight- it is possible that the newly launched spacecraft is also related to China's R&D of manned spacecraft. If so, it would be a major step forward for the country's spacecraft industry, Song noted. 

China in September 2020 conducted a two-day flight experiment with a reusable spacecraft, marking a technological breakthrough. That spacecraft was also launched by the Long March-2F. 

Although no official information was released to show whether the reusable spacecraft launched on Friday was similar to that launched two years ago, the latest launch drew worldwide media attention as it was seen as a new step by China in the R&D of new-type spacecraft, and made speculations on China's possible use of spacecraft for military purposes in the future. 

The West led by the US often hypes and smears China's technological breakthroughs as militarization because it sees all breakthroughs by non-Western countries as a threat. This is meant to maintain a technology monopoly, which is unfair to other countries. This mindset serves only Western-dominated hegemony, Chinese experts said.  

The US Space Force's 18th Space Defense Squadron also tracked the Chinese spacecraft launched on Friday, according to SpaceNews.com, a US-based news portal of information of the global space and satellite industry. 

In October 2021, the Financial Times published an article titled "China's test of new space capability with a hypersonic missile in August," which suggested that China is using space for military purposes. 

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at that time that the test mentioned in the Financial Times report was in fact a routine test of technology for reusing a space vehicle. Zhao noted that such a test is meant to lower the cost of using a space vehicle, and it can provide more low-cost measures for the peaceful use of space.