Satellite Captures Photo of China’s Secretive Space Plane

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has released a high-resolution image of China’s secretive space plane taken by a satellite.

The reusable vehicle, known as Shenlong, or “Divine Dragon,” was seen docked with another spacecraft in orbit.

Captured in 2024 by a commercial imaging satellite operated by Vantor, then known as Maxar Technologies, the photograph provides a detailed view of the vehicle’s underside, including its delta-shaped wings, open payload bay doors, and rear-mounted solar arrays. The image appears in the DIA’s latest report about threats to the U.S. and allied security in space.

Space.com reports that the photograph was taken by a WorldView-3 satellite from approximately 56 miles (90 kilometers) away, with a resolution of 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) per pixel. Although lower-resolution images of the Chinese spacecraft had previously circulated publicly, the newly released image offers the clearest view yet of its design and configuration.

In the image, the space plane is attached to another satellite that has its solar panels deployed. The identity of the second spacecraft has not been established. Shenlong’s payload bay doors are also open, although the photograph does not reveal what operations were taking place at the time.

China has disclosed little information about the spacecraft’s purpose or capabilities. According to Popular Science, the country first launched a Shenlong prototype on a two-day orbital mission in 2020, followed by a nine-month mission in 2022. Its third known flight began in December 2023 and lasted approximately 268 days, ending in 2024. The newly released photograph was captured during that mission. According to the DIA, the spacecraft “released and interacted with an object,” but the agency provided few further details.

China launched the space plane’s fourth known mission on February 7, 2026, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The spacecraft remains part of a programme whose objectives have not been fully disclosed. Chinese authorities have described its work in broad terms, stating that it tests technologies that “will pave the way for more convenient and affordable round-trip methods for the peaceful use of space in the future.”

Observations of Shenlong have nevertheless provided some indications of its activities in orbit. In June 2026, the U.S. space intelligence company LeoLabs reported detecting an object near the spacecraft and subsequently concluded that it had been released by the space plane.

Shenlong’s design shares several characteristics with the X-37B, the U.S. Space Force’s reusable robotic space plane built by Boeing. Both vehicles have wings, payload bays, and the ability to operate autonomously in orbit before returning to Earth for a runway landing.

In February 2025, the U.S. Space Force released its first photograph of an X-37B in orbit, providing a rare view of the spacecraft in operation.