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| The US Air Force's X-37B spacecraft is in orbit |
Beijing - China's most secretive spacecraft broke the record for the flight of an unmanned spacecraft. This reusable test aircraft is launched from the Jiuquan Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, China, aboard a Long March 2F rocket on August 4, 2022.
The size of the rocket's fairing as well as amateur sightings and tracking by the US Space Force all point to similarities to the American X-37B built by Boeing. The difference is, the size of China's spacecraft is smaller. This appears to be the second flight in China's response to the existence of the US X-37B spacecraft.
On Monday 22 August 2022, the Chinese spacecraft launched on 4 August has now been in orbit for 18 days. As far as anyone outside of China's space program and military knows, this Chinese spacecraft is believed to have flown for the first time in 2020.
At that time, the Chinese spacecraft was able to stay in orbit for two days. "Just as with the 2020 spacecraft mission, it appears that at least one smaller satellite has also been released alongside the spacecraft," according to SpaceNews.
Satellite photos appear to show that the alleged landing site used by Flight 2020 is being prepared again, but no landings have been reported yet. It is possible that the plane managed to land somewhere that has gone undetected or unreported by orbital observers.
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| China's Secret Spacecraft Can Last 18 Days in Orbit |
However, it seems unlikely, given the US Space Force must have been monitoring the presence of this spacecraft with its cameras. Moreover, the US also has the X-37B spacecraft has been flying for more than a decade on secret missions.
The plane has flown missions that saw the plane spend more than two years in continuous flight over Earth. In fact, it is currently above us on a mission that has lasted more than 800 days.