Click to see full-size image. (Maxar Technologies via DIA)
The United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has released a previously unseen image of China’s reusable spaceplane in orbit, showing the secretive spacecraft with its service module attached and solar arrays deployed.
The image, captured by Maxar Technologies in 2024, was included in the agency’s Challenges to Security in Space report released on October 26. It shows the underside of the spacecraft, offering a rare view of a Chinese orbital vehicle whose design and mission objectives remain largely undisclosed.
China has launched the spaceplane on four orbital missions since September 2020, using Long March 2F rockets. The first flight lasted two days, while the second remained in orbit for 276 days between August 2022 and May 2023. The third mission, launched in December 2023, lasted 268 days and ended with the spacecraft’s return to Earth on September 6, 2024. A fourth mission began in February 2026.
The DIA’s latest report describes the spacecraft’s rendezvous and proximity operations during its second and third missions.
In May 2023, commercial space-tracking company LeoLabs reported that the vehicle had maneuvered near a smaller object, designated Object J, and appeared to have conducted multiple capture or docking operations before releasing it again.
Tracking data from the spacecraft’s fourth mission also indicated that it released and subsequently recaptured an object in September 2026, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who analyzed U.S. Space Force orbital data. The identity and purpose of the object have not been publicly established.
The image released by the DIA shows the spaceplane with a service module believed to provide electrical power and propulsion during its orbital mission. The module is expected to separate before the spacecraft returns to Earth.
Visible features also appear to include payload-bay doors, although their precise configuration and function remain unclear.
The DIA report identifies two Chinese spaceplane programs, Shenlong and Tengyun, but does not establish which spacecraft appears in the image.
The vehicle is often compared with the U.S. Space Force’s X-37B, an uncrewed reusable spacecraft that also conducts extended orbital missions.
The spaceplane’s proximity operations have raised questions about its potential military applications. The ability to maneuver close to other spacecraft and capture or release objects could support satellite inspection and servicing, but could also potentially be used to interfere with other satellites.
There is no publicly available evidence confirming that the Chinese spaceplane is designed as an antisatellite weapon or carries a specific military payload. Its actual capabilities and intended role remain undisclosed.
Chinese authorities have described the program as a test of reusable spacecraft and in-orbit servicing technologies intended to support the peaceful use of space.
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