A Chinese company headquartered in Beijing has announced that it has tested the prototype of a commercial transport plane capable of traveling at almost twice the speed of the world’s first supersonic passenger plane, the Concorde.

Space Transportation, known as China’s Lingkong Tianxing Technology, announced the successful test flight of its Yunxing aircraft prototype. According to the company’s claims, the plane can fly at speeds of Mach 4, or about 3,069 miles per hour.

The company plans to conduct a follow-up test of its engine in the coming month, according to a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP). It also plans to have a large supersonic aircraft ready to make its first flight in 2027.

The Chinese supersonic plane and the legacy of Concorde

The Concorde broke all records for supersonic passenger transport during its debut. Designed and built by Sud Aviation – which later became part of Aérospatiale (now Airbus) of France and the British Aircraft Corporation, it is still considered one of the masterpieces of aviation technology .

THE Concord was the first turbojet supersonic airliner that will enter service and carry passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound. Using Rolls-Royce Olympus engines, the plane could reach a maximum speed of 1,330 miles per hour.

The Chinese farm now aims to beat this record by introducing a commercial aircraft capable of flying at Mach 4 speed. The SCMP report mentions that the company claims to complete a trip between Beijing and New York in approximately two hours using the new aircraft.

THE new plane The prototype designed by Space Transportation also has other interesting features. These include the ability to take off and land vertically and fly to heights of approximately 65,600 feet (20,000 meters).

Space Transportation and its new plane

Space Transportation designs and manufactures space transportation systems intended to reduce the costs of space exploration. It was founded in 2018 by Yudong Wang, and in 2021 it had raised Series A financing.

In May 2022, Lingkong Tianxing completed successfully the Yao-10 flight mission of the Tianxing I rocket.

The company has complete systems design and research and development capabilities in the field of hypersonic aircraft and rockets.

He also has experience in the complete design of flight test project load analysis and calculation process, modal analysis, force environment identification analysis, structural force transmission path planning, pre-design strength prediction, structural design, strength verification, strength testing and environmental testing, according to its website.

The SCMP report mentions that the company tested the Yunxing supersonic jet on several parameters, including its aerodynamics, thermal protection and control systems.

The company said the all-composite structure successfully resisted these extreme conditions during the test flight, according to the report.

Additionally, he also had the opportunity to check the flight control system, avionics and structural strength of the prototype during the test.

With more tests planned in the future, it remains to be seen how soon Space Transportation can achieve its goal of making commercial supersonic passenger flights at Mach 4 speeds a reality.