China to develop version of Antonov An-225 to launch satellites

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The Airspace Industry Corporation of China (AICC) signed an agreement with the plane's creator, which, if approved, will allow the organization to design its own fleet that would launch commercial satellites into orbit.

However, the aerospace and defense firm would 'modernize' the craft in a fashion that would provide it with heavy lifting capabilities that could be 'greater than that of the US military'.

'The initial idea and early stage research of the An-225 started in 2009,' the president of AICC, Zhang Yousheng told Christian Borys with BBC Future.

'The official contact with Antonov began in 2011, and then from 2013 to 2016 was the acceleration phase of this project.'

Yousheng continued to explain to BBC that the program is working on a strategy that places a satellite on the back of an An-225 and launches it from no more than seven miles (12,000m) in the air.


The An-225 was originally developed to transport the Soviet Buran space shuttle.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Man I'm sure it will be as successful as their "bullet train".

 

[Ferrum Master]

Using what engines? They lack metallurgy skills to craft some proper blades.

 

[Kanan]

I think this will be a big fail. Antonov on its own already was more or less. Only a few were built, and only one is still in service afaik.

 

[droopyRO]

That feat of engineering is a not a failure in any way.

 

[Kanan]

That feat of engineering is a not a failure in any way.

In my books engineering is very well a fail if it's only produced a few times because it's simply too complicated to produce. The aeronautics industry is famous for things like that.

 

[droopyRO]

Have you forgotten the '90s, in what part of Europe do you live ? because here in the Eastern part money didn't fall from the sky in that period(not that it dose today) those were pretty rough times for most of us. Plus there was not a need to mass produce the An-225.

 

[Kanan]

It's a russian military flight, oversized or extremely big and complicated to produce - it was only produced a few times due to those problems (today, as far as I know, only 1 is left flying). And yeah I know not everyone is rich - I'm not talking about that, I'm strictly into engineering problems right now.

 

[droopyRO]

Engineering = money.

 

[Kanan]

Engineering = money.

Too much engineering (also called overengineering) = too much money = no more planes produced.

Why do you think do the americans not have a plane that big? Because it's not practical to produce.

Another fail was and still is the Airbus A380 - too big, never paid off and never will. Try to counter this with your strange "money" argument, not possible this time.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

It's a russian military flight, oversized or extremely big and complicated to produce - it was only produced a few times due to those problems (today, as far as I know, only 1 is left flying). And yeah I know not everyone is rich - I'm not talking about that, I'm strictly into engineering problems right now.

Wiki reckons one was built entirely and a 2nd was mothballed when 70 per cent complete

 

[TheMailMan78]

Have you forgotten the '90s, in what part of Europe do you live ? because here in the Eastern part money didn't fall from the sky in that period(not that it dose today) those were pretty rough times for most of us. Plus there was not a need to mass produce the An-225.

I dunno Russia builds and maintains some of the best fighter jets in the world. Are you talking ex-soviet blocks? If so then I fully agree.

My point was China pretty much makes everything......really badly. Now if you want something nice from that part of the world you gotta hit up Japan. Those guys take pride in their work and even when they have junk to work with they do a damn decent job.

Too much engineering (also called overengineering) = too much money = no more planes produced.

Everything German. I mean EVERYTHING is over engineered.

 

[Kanan]

Wiki reckons one was built entirely and a 2nd was mothballed when 70 per cent complete

That's even worse, I was pretty sure it was more than 1 finished. I thought they are retired, but it seems only 1 was ever finished and is still in service.

 

[droopyRO]

I dunno Russia builds and maintains some of the best fighter jets in the world. Are you talking ex-soviet blocks? If so then I fully agree.

They do/did but this was the situation back then in the Eastern Block little to no money.
From 40:00 onwards

 

[Kanan]

If you don't have much money, and you're still engineering the biggest plane in the world (even way bigger than planes of countries that have multiple times that money like US), you're basically a engineer who failed his job. Not only that, everyone involved made a bad decision. As a engineer, I would want to do things that are remarkably useful, and no one time "wonders".

 

[droopyRO]

It was made to carry Buran, not shuttle sheep from one place to another like Air America.

 

[TheMailMan78]

They do/did but this was the situation back then in the Eastern Block little to no money.

Oh I know things were rough man. My point is what you guys did with limited resources is WAY more than I expect from China with limitless resources. I respect Russian engineering.

 

[Kanan]

It was made to carry Buran, not shuttle sheep from one place to another like Air America.

Ridicilous statement, but be happy with your strange east european pride if it makes you happy. I'm out.

 

[infrared]

They're obviously fairly certain the cost of building/modifying and maintainging one of those colossal beasts will save them a lot in rocket fuel.. Mind you, ~36,000ft isn't much considering the ISS is 1.3M ft up there... I don't think this is a very good idea, still interesting though

 

[r9]

I think Engineering is doing more with less.
Russians are the real example for that.
Chinese are doing even more with less by copying others technology. Not the same !
And its totally ignorant to believe that there is something that they can't make with time.
Can they make it the same quality as being made in Europe or US definitely not.
Can they make it half the quality four times cheaper, you bet!

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology was planning on using a Y -20. Perhaps the Antonov is a cheaper, bigger and altogether better alternative.

 

[infrared]

I think Engineering is doing more with less.
Russians are the real example for that.
Chinese are doing even more with less by copying others technology. Not the same !
And its totally ignorant to believe that there is something that they can't make with time.
Can they make it the same quality as being made in Europe or US definitely not.
Can they make it half the quality four times cheaper, you bet!

It'll be a similar thing to when we sold the Russians some Rolls Royce Nene Turbojet engines during the cold war, with the cocky assumption that they wouldn't be able to replicate it. Then suddenly all their Mig 15s were made with that engine! So yeah, china could definitely pull this off I think, provided they don't cheap out on critical parts.

 

[TheMailMan78]

It'll be a similar thing to when we sold the Russians some Rolls Royce Nene Turbojet engines during the cold war, with the cocky assumption that they wouldn't be able to replicate it. Then suddenly all their Mig 15s were made with that engine! So yeah, china could definitely pull this off I think, provided they don't cheap out on critical parts.

Dude they make junk. They haven't built anything on their own since the Ming Dynasty. Slave labor makes things cheap. Not good.

 

[r9]

It'll be a similar thing to when we sold the Russians some Rolls Royce Nene Turbojet engines during the cold war, with the cocky assumption that they wouldn't be able to replicate it. Then suddenly all their Mig 15s were made with that engine! So yeah, china could definitely pull this off I think, provided they don't cheap out on critical parts.

That the point I wanted to make.
We keep underestimating China and they don't mind playing dumb to get what they want.

 

[Kanan]

Reverse engineering is absolutely possible, and never underestimate ingenuity of other people, especially those you don't know well.