China’s Spaceplane Lands in Gobi Desert, Ending Secretive 268-Day Mission

The Chinese spaceplane completed its third flight, spending 268 days in orbit on a secretive mission likely focused on developing the experimental vehicle. During its time in orbit, the reusable spaceplane released several objects and raised its altitude to 372 miles (600 kilometers) above Earth, in what was an eventful mission.

China’s spaceplane, named Shenlong, touched down late Thursday (Friday in Bejing) at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, according to local media reports. The spacecraft passed over its designated landing site, a dried-up lakebed in the southeastern portion of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region known as Lop Nur, around 9:10 p.m. ET, astrophysicist and space tracker Jonathan McDowell wrote on X.

The 268-day mission, the third for Shenlong, was a test of the spacecraft’s reusable technology and for conducting space-based science experiments, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua

China has not released any information about its reusable spacecraft, including its size or payload capacity. Earlier in August, however, we got a rare glimpse of the spaceplane in orbit through the lens of an astrophotographer in Austria. The images, although rather fuzzy, did reveal some never-before-seen details, including what may be solar panels stuck to the tail-end of the spacecraft. The spaceplane also appeared to be around 30 feet (10 meters) in length.

The reusable spacecraft launched on December 14, 2023 on board a Long March 2F carrier rocket. Shortly after launch, China’s Shenlong deployed six mystery objects into orbit, which appeared to be emitting various signals. Later in May, the spaceplane released an unidentifiable object, which was thought to indicate the end of its mission.

The spaceplane’s inaugural flight took place in 2021, when it stayed in orbit for only two days before landing back on Earth. For its second time in orbit, the spaceplane launched in August 2022 and spent 276 days in Earth’s orbit. China’s spaceplane is a product of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a state-owned manufacturer that makes both civilian and military space launch vehicles.

Shenlong has a U.S. counterpart, the Boeing X-37 that is being developed by the Space Force. The X-37 launched in December 2023 for its seventh mission, which is yet to come to an end. The U.S. spaceplane holds the record for the longest-duration mission, spending 908 days in space on its sixth flight. Marco Langbroek, an astrodynamics lecturer at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, recently captured images of the X-37 spaceplane in orbit, which hadn’t been seen since March.

China didn’t beat its previous record of time spent in orbit, but perhaps the focus is on the spaceplane’s reusability to increase the nation’s access to orbit as its space ambition continues to grow. In that case, the true test will be the timing of the spaceplane’s next launch.

More: China Targets Near-Earth Asteroid for Upcoming Deflection Test