Nation's first reusable satellite returns

China launched its first recoverable satellite in 1975, becoming the third nation, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to have such a spacecraft.

The country has launched nearly 30 such spacecraft since then. These satellites have enabled Chinese scientists to carry out hundreds of space-based tests and experiments. However, none of them could be reused, which means they would retire as soon as their payloads were taken out.

The microgravity inside spacecraft has proved to be beneficial to many scientific experiments, and recoverable satellites are the most suitable carrier for such experiments.

Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said that reusable satellites can complement China's Tiangong space station when it comes to conducting space-based experiments and tests.

"Due to the rapid advances in China's science and technology, we have witnessed an increasing number of scientific experiments and technological tests waiting to be taken into orbit. And that means you could either wait in a long line for an opportunity (for a payload to be carried) onboard the space station or wait for an unpredictable period of time for a place on the next recoverable satellite.

"Now, with the service of the new reusable satellite, researchers will have more opportunities to send their experiments or tests into space, and this new platform promises shorter waits and lower costs, which will definitely be attractive," he said.