The company Space Transportation, also known as Beijing Lingkong Tianxing Technology, told Chinese media it was developing “a winged rocket” for high-speed “point-to-point transportation,” which would be cheaper than using rockets that carry satellites and faster than traditional aircraft.
According to a presentation on the company’s website, the plane will take off vertically, detach itself from a glider wing with rocket boosters and, after making a suborbital trip, land vertically on three deployable legs.
The media quoted Space Transportation as saying that a flight from Beijing to New York would only take an hour.
The company said booster tests are in the works for 2023 and a prototype of a crewed aircraft should be ready around 2030.