The space shuttle had a long history behind it.
Ever since the completion of the Apollo program in the United States during the 1960s, the focus of space shuttle R&D had been on easy maintenance and multiple launches. The Soviet Union followed the United States closely in this space battle. They successfully launched three space shuttles, such as the Snowstorm and the Little Bird.
Therefore, China didn't want to fall behind either, and they also made their own plans.
Like the 863-204 project. The so-called "world-wide round-trip transportation system". During the early stages of the project bidding, Chinese space experts heavily debated the space shuttle. The people supporting the space shuttle had the upper hand.
However, once the arguments were settled, the report was given to Qian Xuesen, who was near retirement.
