China's Secret Spaceplane Is Caught on Camera in Low Earth Orbit

A passing commercial imaging satellite caught a winged Chinese spacecraft in orbit, giving defense analysts their sharpest view yet of a vehicle long modeled on the American military design. The unclassified Defense Intelligence Agency assessment released Monday features the photo, exposing delta wings, payload bay doors, and rear-mounted solar arrays that closely mirror the United States Space Force X-37B spaceplane.

While low-resolution shapes were public before, this new picture demonstrates how high-speed commercial Earth-imaging satellites can pivot their telescopes toward space objects during chance orbital encounters. China has launched four missions with its reusable experimental spacecraft since 2020, operating mostly in low-Earth orbit for months at a time. Unlike traditional satellites, these winged vehicles offer enhanced maneuverability and land autonomously on runways after reentry.

Our read is that commercial non-Earth imaging effectively strips away the cloak of national security for classified programs, turning every low-orbit asset into a visible target. Orbital trackers noted that the current mission repeatedly released and recaptured sub-satellites over the summer, pointing to robotic arm capabilities reminiscent of testing tracked by astrophysicists.

This visibility arrives as global space powers race to secure strategic advantages in orbit through counterspace technologies.

The intelligence report warns that China likely considers directed-energy weapons ideal counterspace systems and may field space-based lasers before the decade ends.

With rival nations deploying inspector satellites, proximity maneuvers, and orbital weapons, the high frontier is transforming into a contested operational domain where keeping secrets in plain sight grows increasingly difficult.