China’s uncrewed, reusable spacecraft, which launches from a rocket and lands at a secretive military airfield, is drawing attention for its potential military applications and technology testing. The spacecraft is currently on its third mission, during which it was observed releasing and retrieving an object several kilometers away, raising speculation about its possible uses.
Experts suggest the spacecraft could be involved in various activities, including inspecting or disabling satellites or testing technology for future space operations. Marco Langbroek, a lecturer at Delft University of Technology, points out that while the spacecraft could be used for military purposes, such as closely inspecting or disabling objects, it also has potential non-military applications, like satellite refueling.
China has not disclosed specific technologies tested by the spacecraft, nor has it been publicly photographed since its operational debut. The U.S. first launched its own uncrewed spaceplane, the Boeing X-37B, in 2010, and Russia has recently launched satellites suspected of being weaponized—a claim Russia denies.
Victoria Samson from the Secure World Foundation views both the Chinese spacecraft and the X-37B as primarily technology demonstrators rather than platforms with significant military utility. The Chinese spacecraft began its current flight in December 2023, following a mission in August 2022 that involved deploying and retrieving an object, lasting 276 days.
The spacecraft is believed to launch from Jiuquan in north-central China and land at Lop Nur, a military airfield associated with nuclear testing. It has exhibited a range of orbital altitudes, similar in size and shape to the X-37B, and is assumed to be uncrewed.
The U.S. Space Shuttle, which operated from 1981 to 2011, and the Soviet Union’s Buran, developed in response to the Shuttle’s military implications, are historical precedents. Jeffrey Lewis from the Center for Nonproliferation Studies advises against viewing the Chinese spaceplane through a purely military lens, suggesting it is more likely engaged in experimental activities.
Military uses of space are sensitive, with orbital weapons prohibited by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, although countries like the U.S., China, India, and Russia possess ground-based anti-satellite capabilities. While the spaceplane’s exact purpose remains unclear, it is causing concern among global military observers. India, for example, is closely monitoring the situation, given the dual-use potential of such technologies.
