BEIJING – Chinese researchers recently tested a demonstration version of areusable, hypersonic spacecraft in the vast Gobi Desert in late February aspart of a major push to become one of the leaders in space exploration,according to a new report.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese space vehicle tookoff from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia before reachingspeeds greater than five times the speed of sound, about 1,715 meters persecond, and landed safely. It’s not clear how long the scaled-downhypersonic device was airborne.

While reusable vehicles reduce launch costs, one pragmatic issue with theapproach is controlling where the reusable boosters land. The GB Timesrecently reported that booster rockets used to launch satellites and globalpositioning devices were falling into people’s backyards.

​On February 12, a booster fell into a building in the town of Xianguin Tiandeng County, Guangxi, and reportedly exploded.