China’s top secret space plane revealed in rare unclassified image - The Independent
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The US has unclassified an image of a top secret Chinese space plane currently orbiting the Earth.
China’s Shenlong spacecraft was first photographed in 2024 by a commercial imaging satellite, but a full-resolution image was only made available in a new Pentagon report on space threats.
The picture of the uncrewed vehicle, captured by the American firm Vantor (formerly Maxar), shows a winged craft that resembles the US Space Force’s secretive X-37B space plane.
It features payload bay doors that suggest it is able to store and deploy small satellites or other spacecraft from its cargo bay.
The Shenlong vehicle has flown on four known orbital missions since 2020, with the most recent one launching in February 2026. Flights typically last around nine months.
“In November 2022, this space plane appeared to maneuver with a companion satellite and conduct station-keeping at around 1 kilometre separation,” the report from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) states.
“At one point, the two objects appeared within 100 meters of one another.1016 The space plane and satellite possibly rendezvoused before the satellite was re-released.”
The report also includes details about China’s development of space weapons.
They include something known as a directed-energy weapon (DEW), which uses a laser or concentrated particle beam travelling at the speed of light to disable a target.
“China has developed and probably will continue to develop weapons for use against satellites in orbit to disrupt, damage and destroy adversary space capabilities,” the report states.
“Beijing aims to become the preeminent leader in space, to shape international norms to be more supportive of China’s positions on space issues, and exploit other nation’s perceived reliance on space-based systems to deter and counter China’s military operations.”
There is no evidence to suggest that the Shenlong spacecraft is carrying space weapons.
Other potential adversaries named in the DIA report include Russia, which is reportedly developing a satellite designed to carry a nuclear weapon.
“A space-based capability such as this could cause rapid and sudden loss or degradation of thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world, as well as to the vital communications, navigation, scientific, meteorological, commercial, and national security services they provide,” the report states.
The authors also note that a nuclear weapon in space could also cause “interruption to power grids globally if it detonates at a sufficiently low enough altitude”.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was signed by the UK, US and USSR, prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons into orbit around Earth.
There is currently no internationally agreed system for managing military activities in space, though several countries, including China and Russia, are pushing for rules to prevent a global arms race in space.
The DIA report claims that the proposed treaties from China and Russia refuse to acknowledge ongoing efforts to develop and deploy space weapons.
