Image reveals details of Chinese spaceplane “Shenlong”

The U.S. DIA has published an image of “Shenlong” with a resolution of 4.5 cm per pixel: its wings, open payload bay, and a docked object are visible. The spacecraft’s purpose and operations remain unknown.

U.S. intelligence publishes detailed image of Chinese spaceplane “Shenlong”

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has released a satellite photograph of the Chinese reusable spacecraft “Shenlong”—a name that translates as “Divine Dragon.” In the image, the spacecraft is in orbit alongside another space object.

The photograph was taken in 2024 by the commercial Earth-observation satellite WorldView-3, then operated by Maxar Technologies, now called Vantor. The image was included in the DIA’s latest report on threats to the security of the United States and its allies in space. According to Space.com, the satellite photographed “Shenlong” from a distance of about 90 kilometers; the image has a resolution of 4.5 centimeters per pixel.

The image shows the underside of the spaceplane, its delta-shaped wings, open payload-bay doors, and solar panels mounted at the rear of the spacecraft. Another satellite, with its panels deployed, is docked to “Shenlong.” Its identity could not be determined. The photograph also does not reveal what operations were conducted with the payload bay open.

Images of the Chinese spaceplane have appeared before, but at lower resolution. The new image makes it possible to see the spacecraft’s structure and configuration in greater detail than in previously available public images.

Test flights and unknown missions

Chinese authorities have disclosed very little about “Shenlong’s” purpose and capabilities. According to Popular Science, the first known prototype was sent on a two-day orbital mission in 2020. In 2022, the spacecraft spent nine months in orbit. The third known flight began in December 2023 and ended in 2024, lasting about 268 days. The published photograph was taken during this mission.

According to the DIA, the spaceplane “released an object and interacted with it.” The agency provided no further details about the event.

The fourth known “Shenlong” mission launched on February 7, 2026, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The spacecraft remains part of a program whose objectives have not been disclosed. Chinese officials describe it in general terms as testing technologies that will “pave the way for more convenient and accessible ways to travel to and from space for peaceful use in the future.”

Some information about the spacecraft’s activities in orbit comes from independent observations. In June 2026, U.S. space intelligence company LeoLabs reported that it had detected an object near “Shenlong.” The company later concluded that the spaceplane had released it.

Similarities to the U.S. X-37B

The design of “Shenlong” has features characteristic of the X-37B, a reusable robotic spaceplane developed by Boeing for the U.S. Space Force. Both spacecraft have wings and payload bays, can operate autonomously in orbit, and then return to Earth and land on a runway.

In February 2025, the U.S. Space Force released a photograph of the X-37B in orbit for the first time. The image offered a rare opportunity to see the spacecraft operating in space.