Travel from Shanghai to New York in just two hours? China enters the hypersonic flight race

Traveling from Shanghai to New York in just a few hours? No problem when you're aboard a hypersonic spaceplane.

Beijing's Space Transportation (also known as Lingkong Tianxing) is working on a groundbreaking passenger vehicle that can soar through the sky at a speed of one mile per second, more than twice the speed of the Concorde.

The company has unveiled an animated promotional video featuring passengers boarding a sleek, 12-seat spaceplane, nestled beneath a delta-shaped aerodynamic structure, flanked by massive booster rockets.

The vehicle launches vertically into the sky, separates from its boosters once it reaches cruising altitude, and then skims the edge of space at 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) per hour, before landing vertically with the help of a tripod-style undercarriage.

Space Transportation aims to conduct its first suborbital space tourism test flight in 2025, with plans for a fully operational global hypersonic vehicle service by 2030, according to the company’s website.

If successful, this project will showcase China's ambition to dominate both the space tourism and hypersonic travel markets, a move supported by major Chinese investors.

Dinogo has reached out to Space Transportation for more information on their launch timeline but has yet to receive a response.

It really is rocket science

China's history with rocket technology dates back to 1232, when the country used 'flying fire arrows' to repel Mongol invaders during the battle of Kai-Keng.

Chinese archers once attached bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder to their arrows, which ignited upon being shot.

Today, China's primary rivals in space are the US and Russia, with the contested frontier being the stratosphere and low Earth orbit.

Space tourism is rapidly growing

At the moment, suborbital flights for point-to-point travel are still a distant dream.

However, space enthusiasts now have a wide range of options for their cosmic adventures – from ultra-high-altitude space balloons and parabolic weightlessness flights, to the potential of spacewalks in the near future.

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, scheduled to launch later this year from NASA’s historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will spend up to five days in orbit. During this mission, the crew will attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk, marking a significant step toward future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

However, regardless of which type of space tourism entices aspiring astronauts, the ticket prices are nothing short of astronomical.

In December, it was revealed that Grenada diplomat Justin Sun, founder of the blockchain platform Tron, had won a seat on Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard rocket after placing the highest bid.

“There’s a strong demand for space travel, and we’ve been selling tickets faster than we originally anticipated,” says Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier in a statement. The company reports that around 700 seats have already been sold.

However, due to the hefty cost of space access, the market is currently seen as an exclusive domain for the ultra-wealthy.

“Space tourism is still in its infancy and remains largely the realm of billionaires,” says John H. Schmidt, global aerospace and defense industry lead at Accenture, speaking to Dinogo.

“While space tourism will eventually grow, it will take significant time before prices drop enough to accommodate a much larger audience beyond the ultra-wealthy,” Schmidt adds.

China is preparing for hypersonic passenger flights

This is where China steps in, known for its ability to quickly identify new market opportunities and develop large-scale solutions while driving down costs for consumers.

China has already established itself as a key player in space, with a government-backed roadmap that spans a wide range of initiatives, including satellite technology, moon and Mars missions, interplanetary travel, and deep space exploration.

In a white paper issued by the State Council Information Office, China outlined its plans to strengthen its space economy, with a particular focus on high-speed human transportation.

Given the profitable potential of space tourism, it’s no surprise that China is investing heavily in resources and infrastructure to advance its own spaceplane program.

For instance, in March 2018, China announced the construction of a 265-meter wind tunnel capable of testing hypersonic aircraft prototypes at speeds of up to Mach 25 (30,625 km/h) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' State Key Laboratory of High-Temperature Gas Dynamics.

"Hypersonic aircraft are on the horizon, but we’re still in the early stages. One of the major challenges is the need for specialized skills. Governments are heavily investing in research and pilot projects to push the boundaries and develop the necessary expertise to eventually build functional hypersonic aircraft," says Accenture's Schmidt.

Assessing the potential for hypersonic business travel

So, what are the broader prospects for space planes?

For high-level travelers eager to slash their travel times (while enjoying stunning views of Earth), there is growing evidence supporting the business case for hypersonic flights. NASA released the results of two major market studies last year that dive deep into the commercial possibilities of hypersonic transportation.

The first study, conducted by Deloitte and backed by NASA, explores the commercial viability of ultra-high-speed business flights. It analyzes the potential for various combinations of three primary factors: cruise Mach numbers (2.0 to 5.5), passenger capacities (20, 50, and 100), and ranges (2,500 to 9,000 nautical miles).

The study concluded that there is significant demand for high-speed transportation, with the expectation that this demand will primarily stem from both scheduled airline services and private jet operations, including charter services, jet card options, or membership-based models.

The analysis indicated that the most likely entry points for scheduled air transportation services will be key transoceanic routes such as New York-London, Miami-Sao Paulo, New York-Paris, Los Angeles-Sydney, and Sydney-Singapore, all of which are seen as prime candidates for hypersonic flights.

The second NASA study, conducted by BryceTech and SAIC, modeled the future demand for hypersonic flights at speeds ranging from Mach 2 to Mach 7. It projected premium air travel demand through 2060 and evaluated how much passengers from various income levels would be willing to pay to save time on flights. The study found that over 300 city pairs could support high-speed commercial and general aviation.

Time is critical.

The key question is: how many people are willing to pay a full first-class fare? Would they be inclined to pay double that amount to travel three or four times faster? This ratio is crucial, according to Adam Dissel, president of Reaction Engines Inc.

Reaction Engines plays a major role in the global hypersonic industry with its hydrogen-powered SABRE (Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine), a groundbreaking engine designed for both high-speed aircraft and spacecraft. The SABRE engine uniquely combines the fuel efficiency of a jet engine with the speed and power of a rocket engine, enabling spaceplanes to take off from runways and achieve speeds up to five times the speed of sound.

According to Dissel, the SABRE engine is a perfect match for both high-speed point-to-point transportation and suborbital or orbital systems. As the first of its kind, it’s a significant challenge to create an entirely new propulsion cycle from the ground up.

Dissel highlights the main difference between hypersonic and supersonic flight, noting that while Concorde reached around Mach 2, passengers had to factor in the time spent at the airport and the aircraft’s gradual acceleration and climb—it wasn’t traveling at Mach 2 for the whole flight.

For a trip from New York to London, the Concorde cut the travel time to just seven hours, compared to the 10-hour door-to-door journey by conventional flight. However, it didn’t significantly improve the business traveler’s schedule by offering a full day back.

Dissel adds, though, that when you push past Mach 4, you reach a point where you could depart from the East Coast of the US in the morning, attend afternoon meetings in London, and be back home by the end of the day. This becomes all about the value of time.

Environmental concerns

While the advantages of hypersonic travel in terms of time savings are undeniable, the path ahead is fraught with significant technical and regulatory obstacles.

NASA's market research has outlined a lengthy list of challenges, including restrictions on sonic booms over populated areas, safety certifications, concerns about emissions, and the risks associated with operating at higher altitudes where exposure to radiation is a concern.

Building space planes capable of withstanding the extreme speeds and heat generated at high Mach velocities presents its own set of challenges, requiring the use of specialized materials. Additionally, pilots would need to undergo unique training to navigate the near-space environment.

While most of these challenges are technical and solvable for a price, there's a significant shift from the Concorde era. Unlike the Concorde, which was backed by nearly endless public funding from British and French taxpayers, the development of tomorrow’s hypersonic space planes will largely rely on private sector investment.

Another key distinction from the 1960s is the current focus on the environmental impact of air travel. Hypersonic flights might face public backlash if travelers boast about their ultra-fast trips, like a two-hour flight from Beijing to Dubai, only to spark 'spaceflight shaming' for contributing to pollution.

Dissel notes, "All these companies are experimenting with ways to combine top speed with a lighter environmental footprint, aiming for systems that are fast and more sustainable from start to finish."

Dissel suggests that one of the most crucial factors for the success of hypersonic flight will be solving the challenge of achieving zero-carbon fuel solutions, which will be a major hurdle to overcome.

The journey of a thousand miles begins …

What does this mean for China’s ambitions as it carves out a place in the global space economy? While Space Transportation (Lingkong Tianxing) faces significant challenges in overcoming the technical hurdles to bring its space plane to market as a privately funded initiative, it does seem to have strong backing from the government.

This state support could serve as a key differentiator.

To overcome the numerous obstacles in making hypersonic flights a reality for the wider business travel sector – and not just for the ultra-wealthy space tourists – the world’s competing spaceplane manufacturers will need substantial financial backing.