U.S. Intelligence Report Reveals Rare Image of China’s Secretive Space Plane

A newly released US intelligence report has provided one of the clearest publicly available images yet of China's secretive space plane, offering new clues about the design of a reusable spacecraft that has drawn international attention.

A satellite image released in a US intelligence report offers a rare view of a Chinese space plane in orbit, showing details of its wings and rear structure. [Photo: Maxar Technologies / U.S. Department of Defense]

The photograph, believed to show China's experimental Shenlong space plane, appears to reveal a vehicle with a design similar to the US Space Force's X-37B, according to Harry Baker's report for Live Science.

The image was included in the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) latest edition of its Challenges to Security in Space report, released on October 26.

The 130-page assessment examines developments and potential threats affecting US interests and assets in space.

Buried on page 53, the photograph is captioned as an image of a Chinese space plane taken in 2024 by a satellite operated by Maxar Technologies, now known as Vantor.

The image offers a clearer view of the spacecraft than previously circulated observations, which largely consisted of blurry images of light reflected from the vehicle toward Earth.

Those earlier sightings provided few details about its physical design or capabilities.

China has not publicly released photographs or detailed technical information about its space plane.

The vehicle has attracted attention from government agencies, commercial space operators and independent researchers because of its repeated missions and the deployment of unidentified objects in low Earth orbit.

The newly released photograph appears to show the vehicle's wings, tail structures and rear section.

Its overall configuration resembles the X-37B, an uncrewed, reusable spacecraft operated by the US Space Force.

However, the DIA report does not explicitly identify the photographed vehicle as Shenlong.

China is known to have worked on more than one space-plane design, including Shenlong and Tengyun, making a definitive identification difficult from the photograph alone.

Shenlong has been associated with China's reusable space-plane program and has conducted multiple orbital missions.

Its activities have included the release of objects into orbit, although the purpose of some of those deployments remains unclear.

The photograph was taken in 2024, according to the report's caption. Its inclusion in the DIA assessment provides a rare opportunity to examine the spacecraft's appearance, but it does not establish the vehicle's precise capabilities or mission objectives.