After years of secrecy, a rare image has emerged showing China’s highly classified Shenlong spaceplane in orbit around Earth, after it was spotted by a US satellite.
According to a report published by Futurism, the image was captured in 2024 but was only recently made public. It was taken by a satellite operated by US-based Vantor, formerly known as Maxar, offering a rare glimpse into the activities of a spacecraft whose operations have remained tightly guarded.
The image shows a vehicle with slender wings, accompanied by an object that appears to be a satellite attached to it and equipped with two large solar arrays.
The Chinese spaceplane’s design closely resembles the US military spaceplane X-37B, operated by the US Space Force and developed by Boeing to carry out classified missions in space.
Mysterious Missions in Space
The image was released as part of a recent US Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, declassified by the Pentagon, examining growing military threats linked to activities in space.
Despite the significance of the image, the US assessment offered no definitive answers about the nature of Shenlong’s missions or the actual objectives behind its continued presence in orbit.
The Chinese program remains highly secretive. Beijing has conducted four missions involving the spacecraft over the past six years without disclosing operational details.
China’s space agency previously said the vehicle would help develop more accessible and less expensive methods for future spaceflight missions involving travel to and from orbit.
However, the release of unidentified objects from the spacecraft during its flights has raised questions among experts. Some believe it could be carrying out operations to capture objects in space using robotic arms.
The Military Spaceplane Race
In the United States, the X-37B continues to carry out orbital missions, having spent thousands of days in space over the past 16 years.
Its latest mission was launched in August 2025. In 2024, the spacecraft also performed a high-risk aerobraking maneuver to lower its altitude from a highly elliptical orbit.
US concerns extend beyond the Chinese spaceplane. The Pentagon has warned that China’s military possesses ground-based laser weapons capable of interfering with satellites and potentially damaging them.
The assessment predicted that China could develop space-based directed-energy systems and more powerful ground-based weapons by the second half of the current decade, potentially posing a threat to satellites operating in higher orbits.
