Reuters Science News Summary

The planned suborbital launch by TiSpace has faced regulatory hurdles and delays amid questions over whether Japan should embrace overseas business as part of its effort to double the size of its 4 trillion yen ($26 billion) space industry over the next decade. Analysis-China's secretive spaceplane likely testing 'dual use' technology, experts say China's shadowy, uncrewed reusable spacecraft, which launches atop a rocket booster and lands at a secretive military airfield, is most likely testing technology but could also be used for manipulating or retrieving satellites, experts say.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Analysis - Taiwanese rocket startup may be early test of Japan's space hub plans

A Taiwanese startup aims to become the first foreign firm to launch a rocket from Japan by early next year, part of a plan industry advocates say will aid Tokyo's ambitions of becoming a space hub in Asia. The planned suborbital launch by TiSpace has faced regulatory hurdles and delays amid questions over whether Japan should embrace overseas business as part of its effort to double the size of its 4 trillion yen ($26 billion) space industry over the next decade.

Analysis-China's secretive spaceplane likely testing 'dual use' technology, experts say

China's shadowy, uncrewed reusable spacecraft, which launches atop a rocket booster and lands at a secretive military airfield, is most likely testing technology but could also be used for manipulating or retrieving satellites, experts say. The spacecraft, on its third mission, was in June observed releasing an object, moving several kilometres away and then manoeuvring back to within a few hundred metres of it.