An unidentified object has been launched into space by a secretive Chinese space plane, a US-based surveillance company has revealed. China’s ‘Reusable Experimental Spacecraft’ is one of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) most closely guarded secrets. However, the exclusive space vehicle has been spotted releasing something into the orbit above Earth.
While Chinese authorities have remained quiet about the suspicious activity, an American space-tracking firm, Leo Labs, spotted the new object at its radar station in New Zealand and posted on X about the discovery. It wrote: “At 02:30 UTC on June 22, 2026, LeoLabs detected an unknown object in the vicinity of the Chinese Shenlong reusable space plane.”
LeoLabs Confirms Release
The company added: “Following additional observations across our global network and analysis via LeoLabs Delta, we have independently catalogued this object and assessed with high confidence that it was released from the Chinese space plane. This activity is consistent with sub-satellite deployments conducted by the space plane in previous missions.”
A Long March 2F rocket was launched from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert on February 6. However, as with the company’s previous launches, the mission's objective was not publicly disclosed.
Expert Analysis and Speculation
According to Professor Jonathan McDowell, of the Durham University Space Research Centre, the mysterious object has now been logged by the American Space Force. Though the reasoning for its deployment is still unknown. Professor McDowell told the Daily Mail: “It's hard to say at the moment, it might just be a cubesat (a small satellite commonly used to conduct research), but it could be a very small spy satellite - nothing fancy. Previous things ejected from earlier flights of the space plane have not manoeuvred or done anything particularly interesting.”
It is likely that the spacecraft is for “doing experiments and testing advanced technology,” rather than space missions. As well as not knowing its function and reasoning for its launch, experts aren’t even exactly sure what it looks like, as there are no official images of the craft. In 2024, Felix Schöfbänker, using a ground-based telescope, captured images showing the space plane apparently fitted with solar panels that had not appeared in the renderings.
History of Suspicious Activity
The Reusable Experimental Spacecraft has a track record of suspicious behaviour, including, in 2024, ejecting a small satellite as it reached the end of its scheduled mission and causing concern when it appeared to have released three sub-satellites at once, which were later discovered to be leftover debris from launch. Observers have also noticed the craft practising operations where it gets as close as possible to another object, leading to a series of questions.
However, it could be that with concerns that the US, China and Russia are all preparing spacecraft that is able to interfere with adversary satellites, this sort of investment could have been promoted by the US Space Force’s own research into developing proximity operations capability. Though for now it is impossible to say what the mystery object is for or part of.
