China’s new spacecraft returns to Earth: official

China's new prototype spacecraft "successfully landed" yesterday, marking an important step in its ambitions to run a permanent space station and send astronauts to the moon. The spacecraft -- which was launched Tuesday -- arrived safely at a predetermined site, the China Manned Space Agency said. It said the cabin structure of the spacecraft had been confirmed on site as being intact. The test vessel was launched with a cargo capsule aboard a new type of carrier rocket from the Wenchang launch site on the southern island of Hainan. The return has verified the spacecraft's capabilities such as its heat resistance -- vehicles re-entering Earth's atmosphere face high temperatures. It is hoped the spaceship will one day transport astronauts to a space station that China plans to complete by 2022 -- and eventually to the Moo

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source