Mysterious Chinese Space Plane Conducting Unknown Mission in Orbit

"Despite its extensive experience of being launched atop a rocket and slowing its descent on its own during reentry, much like NASA's Space Shuttle, we still have no idea what it's doing in space, beyond the military vaguely pointing towards testing new spaceflight hardware and space-based capabilities."

"Most intriguingly, previous test flights have involved Shendong releasing small mysterious objects - likely satellites - while in orbit, which have been tracked by the US Space Force and even amateur astronomers. There's far more that we don't know about the space plane than what we do."

"The plane's third trip to space concluded in September 2024 after spending 267 days in orbit. The 'success of the experiment demonstrates the growing maturity of China's reusable spacecraft technologies, which will pave the way for more convenient and affordable round-trip methods for the peaceful use of space in the future.'"

The United States Space Force operates the Boeing X-37B space plane, which has completed seven orbital missions over 15 years with classified purposes beyond testing spaceflight hardware and space capabilities. China developed its own secretive space plane, Shendong, which launched for the fourth time in February 2024. While China claims the program supports peaceful space exploration and reusable spacecraft development, the true objectives remain unclear. Shendong's previous missions have involved releasing mysterious objects in orbit, tracked by U.S. Space Force and amateur astronomers. Both spacecraft demonstrate advanced reusable technology, though their actual military applications and capabilities remain largely unknown to the public.

Read at Futurism