Tungsten Alloy May be Used in the Development of Supersonic Space Shuttle

It is reported that China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) will begin to develop a high-tech aircraft, which is more efficient than the retired space shuttle. It uses a variety of power and can take off from ordinary airports and fly straight into orbit. The combined cycle engine of the combined power space shuttle will use a turbofan engine or a turbojet engine to let the aircraft take off horizontally from the runway.

With the increase of speed, it is adjusted to supersonic combustion ramjet. During the scramjet phase, the combined power space shuttle will fly into hypersonic flight in "near space". "Near space" is located 20-100 kilometers above sea level. Finally, the space shuttle will use its rocket engine to fly out of "near space" and into orbit. The shuttle will make it easier for untrained personnel to enter space because it accelerates more slowly than a space launch vehicle, reducing the physical strain that astronauts experience during takeoff. This means that one version of the shuttle could be used for space travel. In this high-temperature working environment, high-temperature resistant materials such as tungsten alloy, tungsten copper and titanium alloy are in great need. Therefore, the rapid progress of material technology such as tungsten alloy, tungsten copper and titanium alloy will enable China to support the research and development of space shuttle with ultra-high technical performance in the material field.

At present, China has a variety of advanced solid fuel and liquid fuel space rockets. Even China's historically weak turbine engine technology may not be a problem. Perhaps the biggest challenge for CASTC is to integrate all the relevant components into one thruster package and build a fuselage that is light and strong enough to withstand the challenges of hypersonic flight and re-entry.