Defense intelligence report publishes clearest photo of China’s Shenlong space plane

The Defense Intelligence Agency published an unclassified photograph of China’s Shenlong space plane in its Challenges to Security in Space report on Oct. 27, 2026, giving the public its clearest view yet of the classified reusable vehicle, Popular Science reported.

Popular Science reported that Maxar Technologies captured the photograph in 2024. Maxar is a geospace intelligence company. The image appears on page 53 of the 130-page report and carries a caption calling the vehicle an unnamed Chinese spaceplane. It shows the craft from below and reveals rear-facing solar panel arrays.

The report is the Defense Intelligence Agency’s latest Challenges to Security in Space edition. The 130-page threat assessment examines space-based challenges facing the United States and its allies. It addresses orbital debris and the near- and long-term space aims of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, Popular Science reported.

China officially revealed Shenlong’s existence nearly 20 years ago. Little is publicly known about the project. The report offers a rare glimpse of the vehicle even though mission details and capabilities remain undisclosed, the outlet reported.

Shenlong’s prototype completed an initial orbital mission lasting two days in 2020. It was the vehicle’s first known orbital flight. China flew a 276-day orbital mission in 2022, following the 2020 prototype flight. A third known Shenlong test lasted 268 days and launched in December 2023, coinciding with Maxar’s 2024 photograph.

The Defense Intelligence Agency states that Shenlong released and interacted with an object during a mission. The agency provided no further public details about the interaction.

China’s fourth known Shenlong excursion began on February 7, 2026, lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This launch places Shenlong alongside the U.S. X-37B program. Both nations operate classified reusable orbital vehicles.

The Boeing-built X-37B operated by the U.S. Space Force is on its eighth classified mission. It has remained in low Earth orbit for 431 days and counting. The X-37B is the Space Force’s own secretive robot plane and a reusable vehicle, Popular Science reported.

The solar-powered X-37B vertical takeoff horizontal-landing craft measures over 29 feet long. It has a nearly 15-foot wingspan and reaches an orbital speed of 17,426 mph. The vehicle’s full capabilities are highly classified.

The U.S. Space Force says the X-37B’s eighth mission tests laser communications technology and quantum measurement instruments. These payloads were disclosed even though the vehicle’s full capabilities remain classified.