To get from one point of the globe to another more quickly, the plane is still the best solution, but it is possible to further speed up the time in flight. There is the supersonic of course, but the Chinese company Space Transportation offers an even faster variant in the form of a rocket with wings!
Space Transportation is developing “a rocket with wings” that would allow passengers to travel very quickly to the other side of the globe, even more than with the supersonic. We are talking about a one-way trip from New York to Beijing in just one hour, compared to 18 hours in normal times!
A winged rocket to go faster
This rocket would take off from its launch pad vertically, then detach from the plane once in low orbit. The latter would then land at the intended location on its three hind legs. Ground tests are planned as early as next year, with a first flight for 2024 and a manned flight in 2025. A very optimistic agenda, but rocket technologies have advanced in recent years led by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Ambitious, Space Transportation is planning an orbital flight with a crew in 2030. A very busy program for this company created in 2018, which raised $46.3 million last August. ” We are developing a winged rocket for high-speed transport, cheaper than rockets carrying satellites, and faster than traditional aircraft “, explained the company.
It is hardly surprising to see China pushing very hard towards orbital flights. Because the competition does not wait: Virgin Galactic carried out suborbital flights in July 2021, with none other than Richard Branson (founder of the Virgin brand) as a passenger. And of course, Blue Origin sent its first space tourists last year.
Still, this vision of orbital transport will require huge investments in infrastructure: rockets will have to take off and shuttles will have to land. Airports will have to transform radically if these projects succeed.
