CCTV reveals China's mysterious spacecraft, capable of reaching speeds up to 25 times the speed of sound

Recently, CCTV news program reported on the latest progress of China's JF-22 ultra high speed wind tunnel, and generously showcased the mysterious new type of spacecraft and hypersonic aircraft. The new hypersonic aircraft mentioned in the report can reach a maximum speed of 12 Mach, which is over 4000 meters per second.

There is also text explanation next to it, but it does not appear completely in the picture. Only words such as "Inhalation Power", "Maneuvering Flight", "Global Arrival" can be seen. The Dongfeng-17 missile in our country is the first truly operational hypersonic weapon, with a speed of up to 20 Mach.

And this mysterious spacecraft, designed in a black triangle with duck wings, carries a small plane on its tail and has a maximum speed of 25 Mach, which is 25 times the speed of sound, about 8.5 kilometers per second.

Jiang Zonglin, a researcher at the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and project leader of the Huairou Shock Wave Wind Tunnel, pointed out that one of the most basic ideas of the JF-22 wind tunnel is to create a round-trip system that can reduce the cost of satellite and spacecraft launches by 90%.

In mid July, the maiden flight of China's suborbital reusable demonstration and verification project was a complete success, which is an important symbol of China's transition from a space power to a space powerhouse. It can be used as a sub stage of the lift rocket powered reusable space transportation system and is a highly integrated body of aerospace technology.

The relevant reports have only a few paragraphs of text and no accompanying images. The official even joked about it as "too advanced to display", which was praised by netizens as a large-scale "Versailles" scene.

Looking back, let's talk about the world's most advanced JF-22 ultra high speed wind tunnel, also known as the "Explosion Driven Ultra High Speed High Enthalpy Shock Wave Wind Tunnel". The project was officially launched in March 2018 and has now entered the on-site installation stage. The installation of the vacuum chamber, experimental chamber, and nozzle has been completed and passed the mid-term inspection of the expert group. It is planned to be completed in 2022.

The core technology of JF-22 wind tunnel is to provide stable driving airflow for shock wave wind tunnel through forward detonation driver, with a testing capability 10 times higher than JF-12 shock wave wind tunnel - the latter is one of the major scientific research equipment development projects in 8 countries, costing 46 million yuan. It was launched in January 2008 and successfully passed the acceptance in May 2012. With China's original reverse detonation driving method as the core, it overcomes the weaknesses of free piston driving technology and integrates five key innovative technologies.

As a super large shock wave wind tunnel and a cradle for the development of new generation aircraft, JF-22 aims to reproduce flight conditions at altitudes of 40 to 100 kilometers, with speeds up to 10 kilometers per second, equivalent to about 30 times the speed of sound. Its research and development goal is to meet the national major requirements in the field of round-trip flight technology and the forefront exploration of high-temperature gas dynamics, and to solve the experimental research problems of ultra high speed flight.

After completion, JF-22 and JF12 will jointly form an internationally leading ground aerodynamic experimental platform capable of covering all hypersonic flight corridors.

Source: CCTV News