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Here’s What China’s Mysterious Spaceplane Actually Looks Like

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Here’s What China’s Mysterious Spaceplane Actually Looks Like

For years, China’s secretive spaceplane has flown through Earth orbit as a shadowy figure, releasing unidentified objects and pulling off some strange maneuvers. Now, a newly released high-resolution photograph gives us our clearest look yet at the mysterious spacecraft—one of China’s most guarded spaceflight endeavors.

The image was taken in 2024 by a commercial imaging satellite owned by Maxar Technologies, which specializes in geospatial intelligence. It was then quietly released by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in its latest unclassified report titled “Challenges to Security in Space.”

Compared to previous glimpses of China’s spaceplane in orbit, the new photo finally gives us a detailed view of the experimental vehicle’s design, which appears quite similar to the U.S. Space Force’s own X-37B spaceplane.

China’s spaceplane, dubbed Shenlong (or Divine Dragon), made its orbital debut in 2020, launching for a brief, two-day mission before landing back at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.

The spacecraft’s follow-up missions lasted for a significantly longer time in orbit. The spaceplane launched in August 2022 and spent 276 days in Earth orbit, and then again in December 2023 for a 268-day-long mission. The spaceplane is currently on its fourth mission, which launched on February 7.

Over the course of its missions, Shenlong carried out different orbital maneuvers, as well as capture and docking operations, formation flying, and vertical takeoff and horizontal landing. The spaceplane has also released unidentified objects during its time in orbit, some of which even emitted various signals while in orbit .


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