The Kuang-Chi Group, a technology conglomerate based in Shenzhen, China, announced on September 6 that its Traveler II Beta will carry animals into near space during a test flight this year.
The announcement came during the opening ceremony of the company’s research center for near space technologies in Haikou, in China’s southernmost province of Hainan.
Traveler II Beta is a flying device used for data collection and analysis. It will perform the test flight in the near-space region, which is between 20km and 100km above sea level – more than twice the altitude flown by commercial airlines.
In June 2015, Traveler completed its first test flight in New Zealand, reaching the designated flight altitude of 21km and successfully transmitting data back to the ground.
Traveler II Beta’s main subsystems have been completed and are in the final stage of assembly and testing. The manned Traveler II is also in the final stage of assembly, and cabin tests are expected to be completed by the end of 2016 with flight tests beginning next year.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Kuang-Chi is focused on the development of future technologies. Kuang-Chi subsidiary KuangChi Science concentrates on the development of future technology and conducts research and development of different disruptive technologies, future space exploration and artificial intelligence.
September 9, 2016
