US intelligence releases first detailed image of China's secret Shenlong spaceplane

What the photo shows

The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) published a detailed image of the Chinese spaceplane on 26 October, inside an unclassified report titled Challenges to Security in Space. The picture was taken in 2024 by a commercial satellite operated by Maxar Technologies, a company now known as Vantor. It shows the underside of the craft, its wings, the payload bay doors and a rear service module fitted with solar arrays. Sources describe the design as strikingly close to the X-37B, the reusable spaceplane flown by the US Space Force, although the Chinese wings appear to have a different geometry. The caption describes only a Chinese spaceplane that can be launched to place objects in orbit, test them, and return to Earth.

Identity still unconfirmed

The report names two Chinese models, Shenlong and Tengyun, without saying which one appears in the picture. Beijing has not disclosed the objectives of its spaceplane missions, and it is unclear whether China operates more than one vehicle. The DIA assessment covers threats to the United States and its allies in space, and it lists short and long term goals of countries including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The image appears on page 53 of a report of roughly 130 pages. In 2024, a US Space Force official showed a low-resolution picture of a similar craft at a conference in South Korea, and the Space Force and Maxar declined to comment when asked about it.

Four missions since 2020

The first flight in 2020 was a test that stayed in orbit for two days. The second mission began in August 2022 and lasted 276 days in orbit. The third began in December 2023 and lasted 268 days, during which the DIA says the craft released an object and interacted with it. Reports suggest the photograph dates from this third flight. The fourth mission launched in February 2026 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, and the craft remains in orbit as of the reporting. Each mission launched on a Long March rocket inside a payload shroud, and the timeline below sets out the key dates.

Second mission, began August 2022276

Third mission, began December 2023268

Second mission, began August 2022

276 days

Third mission, began December 2023

268 days

Data from the article text

How it compares with the X-37B

The US Space Force operates two X-37Bs that fly in rotation. The longest of their eight missions ran about two and a half years from launch to landing, and most of their activities remain classified. Officials have released photos, design details and a handful of experiments carried into orbit. Like the X-37B, the Chinese craft operates as a satellite once in orbit and lands on a runway at the end of each mission. Ground teams then refurbish it for another flight, and it is not publicly known how many such spaceplanes China holds.