For six years, China's Shenlong spaceplane was little more than a fuzzy glint: China has never released official images, and ground-based photos only captured reflected light.

That changed on October 26, 2026, when the US Defense Intelligence Agency quietly included a 2024 satellite photograph on page 53 of its 130-page report on space security challenges, captioning it only as a 'spaceplane of the People's Republic of China.'

Space journalist Andrew Jones was the first to spot and share the image.

The picture was captured in 2024 by the WorldView-3 satellite of Vantor, the company then known as Maxar Technologies, and shows the spaceplane with its payload bay doors open, apparently docked to another satellite with deployed solar panels whose identity is unknown.

According to space.com, as cited by Yahoo, the photo was taken from roughly 90 kilometers away at a resolution of 4.5 centimeters per pixel — an exceptionally detailed view of a vehicle whose missions have been shrouded in secrecy.

The DIA report does not explain why the photograph had not been released before, a silence that led Live Science to question whether its authors recognized the image's significance.

The vehicle's identity is not fully confirmed: the DIA does not say whether it is the Shenlong or China's other spaceplane design, the Tengyun, but Yahoo reports that there are no confirmed Tengyun launches and its possible prototype looks very different, pointing to the Shenlong as the most likely identification.

20Minutos adds that the image shows a satellite coupled to the spaceplane with its cargo compartment doors open.

The design looks familiar: Yahoo reports that Ars Technica noted its strong resemblance to the US X-37B spaceplane, with delta wings, a dark thermal shield and a rear service module with solar panels, though Global Defense News points to differences in wing geometry.

The flight record shows clear evolution: the Shenlong debuted in September 2020 with a mission of just two days, then according to Gizmodo, cited by Yahoo, stayed in orbit 276 days from August 2022 and another 268 days from its December 2023 launch, and 20Minutos notes its second mission demonstrated prolonged orbital operations.

Live Science calculates it has now accumulated more than 800 days in space since its fourth mission launched February 7, 2026.

Yahoo also reports it has released at least nine unidentified payloads and, per the DIA, in November 2022 appeared to approach within 100 meters of another satellite, possibly capturing and releasing it.

The image lands inside a broader warning.

The DIA's report highlights China's growing anti-satellite capabilities, and according to 20Minutos it states that 'China is developing space technology, including orbital anti-satellite weapons, capable of putting space systems at risk,' listing technologies from radio-frequency jammers and lasers to robotic mechanisms and nuclear detonations.

20Minutos also reports the DIA believes China could deploy space-based lasers by the end of the decade.

China, for its part, describes the Shenlong program as an effort to develop convenient and affordable round-trip travel for the peaceful use of space, and Yahoo notes the photograph does not prove any armament function.

Meanwhile, Washington keeps similar secrecy around its own X-37B, and space.com suggests such image releases may let each power showcase capabilities without revealing all its cards.