“The spacecraft in question is definitely alarming.”

Mysterious Purpose

China’s mysterious Shenlong spacecraft may be doing more than just testing out its spacefaring capabilities, experts warn.

In interviews with Reuters, space defense experts posited that some of the uncrewed Shenlong spaceplane’s latest maneuvers suggest that it may have anti-satellite uses as well.

Launched atop a Long March 2F rocket booster — China’s only one that is rated for human use, though the Shenlong spaceplane is presumed to be uncrewed — the craft is on its third mysterious orbital mission since 2020. Though we’ve been able to track the launches as they come, the United States and its allies know little more about the spaceplane now than we did upon its first deployment.

In early June, the reusable spacecraft was seen releasing an unknown object, traveling several kilometers away, and then making its way back to its original vicinity — and not for the first time, either.

According to Marco Langbroek, a space situational lecturer at the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology, having a spacecraft that could interfere with or even capture enemy satellites would be valuable to any country.

“It’s obvious that it has a military application, including, for example, closely inspecting objects of the enemy or disabling them,” Langbroek suggested. “But it also has non-military applications. Gaining experience with this kind of grab and release is good if you want to for instance… refuel your own satellites.”

Military Maneuvers

Notably, the United States military’s own secretive X-37B spacecraft, which is manufactured by Boeing and has had seven launches to date, has also undertaken similar catch-and-release experiments. According to Victoria Samson, the chief director of space security at Washington’s Secure World Foundation think tank, those similarities can’t be overlooked, though she urges caution in the face of concern.

“I don’t think that either has a whole lot of military utility, to be honest,” Samson said. “I am guessing that both are technology demonstrators.”

All the same, the American military is keeping its eye on Shenlong.

“Any space activity that [the Chinese] undertake, we assume has some dual use in the national security realm,” said General Stephen Whiting, the commander of US Space Command. “We’re always interested in understanding what could that dual use be, and trying to make sure that we have a good knowledge of that.”

Indian officials who spoke to Reuters on condition on anonymity echoed those worries.

“The spacecraft in question is definitely alarming,” a senior Indian military official said. “Things like this can always have dual purposes.”

More on Chinese spacefaring: The Head of NASA Is Being Awfully Catty About China’s Amazing New Moon Samples