Next-generation crewed spacecraft

The debut flight of Long March 7 launched at Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on 25 June 2016 12:00 UTC with the scaled prototype of the next-generation crewed spacecraft test vehicle, called multipurpose spacecraft scale return capsule (Chinese: 多用途飞船缩比返回舱).[7] The capsule returned and landed successfully in the desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on 26 June 2016 07:41 UTC.[13]

The test flight of Long March 5B included two payloads. The primary payload was the next-generation crewed spacecraft test vehicle (Chinese: 新一代载人飞船试验船) and the accompanying secondary payload was the flexible inflatable cargo re-entry capsule test capsule (Chinese: 柔性充气式货物返回舱试验舱).[14] Both payloads were launched successfully by the first Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, on 5 May 2020 at 10:00 UTC. The test of the next-generation spacecraft included the evaluation of avionics, orbit performance, new heat shielding, parachute deployment and a cushioned airbag landing and recovery system. The short-duration orbital test flight concluded with re-entry and landing in remote northwestern China, on 8 May 2020.[15]

The test of the secondary payload included the evaluation of the experimental flexible heat shield for cargo landing.[16][17] The flexible inflatable cargo re-entry vehicle test vehicle was scheduled to perform re-entry on 6 May 2020 after performing orbit experiment,[18] while the next-generation crewed spacecraft test vehicle carried out re-entry on 8 May 2020.[19]

On 6 May 2020, the experimental cargo return craft, the flexible inflatable cargo re-entry test capsule, launched as a secondary payload on China's Long March 5B rocket, malfunctioned during its return to Earth on 6 May 2020.[20] CMSA announced the cargo craft encountered an anomaly during re-entry and the investigation was carried out on the collected data.[21]

The primary payload, the unpiloted prototype for the country's next-generation crewed spacecraft, continuously raised its orbit before its landing on 8 May 2020.[20] On 8 May, China's spacecraft successfully returned to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 05:49 UTC, on 8 May 2020, according to the China Manned Space Agency.[22] During the preparation of re-entry, the uncrewed spacecraft performed seven orbit-raising maneuvers to reach a final apogee of around 8,000 km (5,000 mi). The test vehicle finished de-orbit burn at 05:21 UTC, followed by the separation of service and crew module at 05:33 UTC. Before re-entering into the atmosphere, the capsule executed a skip maneuver employing aerodynamic lift in the high upper atmosphere, which extended the re-entry time for vehicles. This technique was used to prevent high rate of peak heating forming in short span of time when the vehicle conducted high speed re-entry such as from the Moon to Earth.[23] After re-entering the atmosphere, the crew module deployed three parachutes to slow its descent (whereas the Shenzhou has one parachute) and airbags to cushion the landing.[24] According to CASC, The re-entry velocity was higher than 9 kilometers per second.[24]