According to Space Transportation, the Yunxing aircraft will be able to carry passengers from Beijing or London to New York in about two hours, traveling at a cruising speed greater than four times the speed of sound. The goal is to complete the development of a full-scale supersonic passenger jet and achieve its maiden flight by 2027.
The Yunxing will be designed to take off and land vertically. The company said it has already developed a prototype and successfully conducted a test that verified the aerodynamics, control systems, as well as the thermal and mechanical resistance of the composite structures.
Thermal protection is crucial: during high-speed flight, the aircraft’s surface is continuously heated by aerodynamics, with temperatures exceeding 1.000°C. For this reason, lightweight, strong and heat-tolerant materials and structures are essential. The company confirmed that the all-composite structure successfully withstood these extreme conditions during flight testing.
Founded in Sichuan Province in 2018, the company is dedicated to developing cost-effective space transportation solutions. It has R&D centers and manufacturing facilities in Beijing, Xi'an (Shaanxi Province) and Anhui, as well as a test base in Korla, western Xinjiang.
The company's research and development plans include technology validation platforms, suborbital space tourism vehicles, and global hypersonic flight vehicles. The company has provided hypersonic technology services to military entities, universities, and research institutions, and has also collaborated on rocket development and flight testing with several universities.
