China’s mysterious space plane released an unidentified ‘object’ in orbit, US intelligence reveals

After nine months in orbit, China’s mysterious space plane has landed for the second time, making the nation one of the few entities to successfully launch and recover a reusable spacecraft. “The complete success of this experiment marks a significant breakthrough in our country’s research on reusable spacecraft technology,” Xinhua, a Chinese state media agency, reported earlier this month. However, the Chinese government has released very little additional information about the craft; the details of its design, capabilities and performance remain hazy. Experts think the Chinese plane is likely similar to the Boeing X-37B, a U.S. space plane that debuted…