China building giant hypersonic railgun for space launches

In a hypersonic race for rapid-fire satellite-launching supremacy, China and the US are unveiling dueling futuristic technologies that could be crucial in a war scenario where satellites are targeted.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported this month that China plans to build a giant railgun to launch its Tengyun spaceplane, combining electromagnetic launch and hypersonic flight.

China aims to use a giant electromagnetic launch track to accelerate a hypersonic aircraft to Mach 1.6, separate from the track, ignite its engine and enter near space at seven times the speed of sound, the SCMP report said.

The Tengyun spaceplane is designed to carry crew and cargo into orbit and release satellites into space. It may also be designed to conduct other missions including docking with or capturing satellites or surveillance.

SCMP says the Tengyun project presents a viable application of electromagnetic launch technology to overcome challenges in high-speed flight efficiency.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) has constructed a two-kilometer low-vacuum track high-speed maglev test facility in Datong, Shanxi province.

The facility can propel a heavy object to speeds approaching 1,000 kilometers per hour, according to the SCMP report. The length of the test line will be extended to achieve a maximum operating speed of 5,000 kilometers per hour in the coming years, the report said.

At the same time, US-based Stratolaunch’s Talon-A (TA-1) hypersonic vehicle recently made its first powered flight carrying multiple test payloads off California’s coast, The Warzone reported this month.

The wedge-shaped unmanned aircraft, launched from the company’s massive Roc jet, achieved around 200 seconds of powered flight,