China is in the process of designing a new generation rocket that can be launched into space through a special aircraft, marking a major breakaway from the more traditional ground-launched rockets. The ambitious project that is still in trail stage is part of China's space program aiming to dispatch hundreds of satellites into orbit for military, commercial and scientific aims.

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The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) has designed a model of this space rocket that could carry a 100 kg (220 lb) payload into earth's lower orbit. But this rocket won't be launched into space by a conventional civilian aircraft, but by a newly designed Chinese military aircraft 'Xian Y-20.'

"The jet (Y-20 aircraft) will hold a rocket within its fuselage and release it at a certain altitude. The rocket will be ignited after it leaves the plane," said Li Tongyu, the head of the carrier rocket development project at CALT.

He confirmed that the CALT plans to develop a larger rocket that could carry a 200 kg payload at a later stage. Li counted several advantages of aircraft launched rockets including the fact that they can quickly replace the dysfunctional satellites and also swiftly launch earth observation satellites in the wake of natural disaster.

Several space experts also claim that solid-fuel rockets require much less preparation than land-based liquid-fuelled rockets, where preparations can take up to several days and even weeks.

According to Long Lehao, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a solid-fuel rocket launched by a Y-20 aircraft would consume only 12 hours of preparation to put in place a 200 kg satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit 700 km above Earth.

This new generation space rocket essentially represent China's bold ambitions in its space mission as it tries to catch up with the space programs of the developed western nations. Some of its most anticipated space program includes setting up a manned space station by 2022, landing a rover on the red planet by 2020 and sending an astronaut to the moon by 2036.

Tagschinese space program, china, Y-20 aircraft, china space