Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

The Defense Department today released its annual report on military and security developments involving China, commonly referred to as the China Military Power Report.

This newly issued report discusses China’s space ambitions:

“The PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] space enterprise continues to mature rapidly and Beijing has devoted significant economic and political resources to growing all aspects of its space program, from military space applications to civil applications such as profit-generating launches, scientific endeavors, and space exploration.”

The report notes the inaugural launch of a reusable PRC Space Plane, explaining:

“In early September, the PRC became the third country to successfully launch and recover a space plane, after
the United States and the Soviet Union. The space plane spent about two days in space before releasing a second object, de-orbiting, and landing at an airfield in Western China. The second object remains on orbit. Beijing has not released any information on the mission beyond calling it a “reusable experimental spacecraft.”

To read the full report — Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China — go to:

https://media.defense.gov/2021/Nov/03/2002885874/-1/-1/0/2021-CMPR-FINAL.PDF?source=GovDelivery