Pentagon Shows Photo of Secret Chinese Spaceplane. It Resembles American X-37

The image was published in the report "Challenges to Security in Space." It is dedicated to the military rivalry of the US with China and Russia, as well as North Korea and Iran, which also have space programs with military orientation.

Space planes, or spaceplanes, are a promising type of apparatus capable of moving both in vacuum and in Earth's atmosphere.

Such vehicles have aerodynamic surfaces — a wing, tail fins — as well as an aerodynamic shape. This allows them to perform controlled flight in the air.

In the image, the vehicle is oriented with its bottom facing the lens. The image is so clear that one can distinguish the open cargo bay doors in the upper part of the vehicle.

In the tail section, an extension with deployed solar panels on the sides is noticeable. This could be a docked service module.

Two dark rectangular spots at the bottom could be the doors for the compartments of the two main landing gear struts. It is likely that the vehicle uses a three-strut configuration, and there is another compartment for the nose gear in the front.

The tasks that spaceplanes are potentially capable of performing include launching various payloads into orbit, interacting with other spacecraft — that is, performing inspector satellite tasks.

Inspector satellites can be used to examine other vehicles and repair them. But they can also be anti-satellite weapons.

“A key capability for reusable spacecraft are space planes, similar to this PRC space plane captured by Maxar. Space planes can go into orbit to deliver objects into space or even for testing and returning them to Earth,” the report states.

Maneuverability

“Spaceplanes are reusable vehicles and possess increased maneuverability, making them more suitable for performing certain tasks compared to traditional satellites,” the report states.

The increased maneuverability of a spaceplane in orbit is achieved through engines and fuel reserves.

Conventional satellites are also capable of maneuvering, but their lifespan depends on how much fuel they have for orbit correction or maneuvers.

A reusable spaceplane, after completing its mission, can return to Earth and be reused, rather than remaining in orbit until its resources are exhausted.

Therefore, such vehicles can perform orbital maneuvers with higher fuel consumption.

But they have another unique property — they can significantly change their orbit upon atmospheric re-entry.

Such a vehicle, moving in orbit, can enter the upper layers of the atmosphere and maneuver within them using aerodynamic rudders and wings, changing its flight direction.

In this way, it is capable of changing the inclination of its orbit. Inclination is the angle between the orbital plane and the equatorial plane.

To change it, a lot of fuel must be spent — this is one of the most energy-intensive maneuvers for orbital vehicles. Therefore, satellites rarely change the inclinations of their orbits.

Thanks to its engines and aerodynamic capabilities, a spaceplane can expand the range of accessible orbits within a single flight compared to a conventional satellite of the same mass.

Chinese Program

As stated in the report, the first prototype of a Chinese spaceplane made its flight into space in 2020. It remained in orbit for two days, after which it returned to Earth.

The second flight took place in 2022. It lasted 276 days. During this flight, the vehicle, as American military personnel believe, performed maneuvers near another Chinese satellite.

It maintained a distance of one kilometer from it, but at some point approached within 100 meters. It is not excluded that the spaceplane and the satellite docked, after which the satellite separated again, the report states.

In December 2023, China launched its third spaceplane, which spent 268 days in orbit. During this mission, the vehicle released some object and interacted with it.

X-37 Copy?

Many countries have developed such programs. The most successful is the American Space Shuttle. It is the only spaceplane that performed regular flights into space for many years.

In the USSR, "Buran" was built and made a flight into space. Besides it, other space plane projects were developed in the Soviet Union.

Currently, the US has the Boeing X-37 program, under which a single X-37B vehicle performs orbital flights. It has already completed seven missions, the longest of which lasted over 900 days.

This is a military and strictly classified program, and exactly what this vehicle does in space is unknown. But, likely, it is used to develop, among other things, the control features of the vehicle itself.

According to many experts, the Chinese vehicle, published by the Pentagon, is externally very similar to the X-37.

The report also states that over the past two decades, Russia has announced several spaceplane projects. However, since the single test flight of "Buran" in 1988, no significant progress has been made in this area.

Inspectors

These maneuvers resemble the actions of inspector satellites. Many countries, including the US, Russia, and China, are developing such vehicles.

It is believed that in the early 2010s, Russia began actively developing a program of military inspector satellites, potentially capable of interfering with or even destroying another country's vehicle.

China is also developing satellites whose characteristics identify them as inspectors.

In an interview with the BBC in 2025, then-commander of the British Space Forces Paul Tedman said that "the Chinese have much more sophisticated capabilities, but the Russians have a greater desire to use their military systems in space".

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