China's spaceplane bears striking resemblance to America's X-37B
Defense Intelligence Agency space report includes a rare orbital snap of the Chinese craft, and it looks rather familiar
China's secretive spaceplane has been detected orbiting the Earth by a US commercial satellite, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The DIA's report warns of advancements by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea that pose potential threats to space security. The report features an image of China's spaceplane in orbit from 2024, which also closely resembles the US Space Force's X-37B.
The X-37B, an uncrewed spaceplane, began as a NASA project in 1999 before being transferred to the US Department of Defense. Since its first launch in 2010, the reusable spaceplane has conducted eight missions, spending years in orbit to carry out classified activities. China's first spaceplane mission launched in 2020, followed by missions in 2022 and 2023, with durations ranging from two to 276 days in orbit.
The latter two missions seemed to include approach and rendezvous tests of objects in orbit. Russia's spaceplane, Buran, bore a resemblance to the US Space Shuttle, but according to the DIA report, Russia has made limited progress since. The US has recently confirmed possessing weapons in space, prompting concern from lawmakers that rivals may have similar capabilities, whether kinetic or jamming technology.
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