In the realm of space exploration, China’s uncrewed reusable spacecraft has been the subject of much speculation. Experts believe that the secretive spacecraft, currently on its third mission, maybe testing technologies for manipulating or retrieving satellites.

What Happened: The spacecraft was observed in June releasing an object, moving several kilometers away, and then repositioning itself near the object, Reuters reported on Thursday.

“It’s obvious that it has a military application, including, for example, closely inspecting objects of the enemy or disabling them,” stated Marco Langbroek, a lecturer at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Besides potential military uses, the spacecraft could also be used for non-military purposes, such as refueling satellites. As militaries worldwide are developing intricate satellite networks, a reusable spacecraft with such capabilities could be of immense value, Langbroek and three other experts noted.

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Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C., believes that China’s spaceplane is likely testing technology similar to the X-37B.

“I am guessing that both are technology demonstrators,” she added.

The current flight of the Chinese spaceplane began in December 2023. Its previous mission, which also involved putting a separate object in space and retrieving it, launched in August 2022 and lasted 276 days, according to tracking data.

Why It Matters: The technologies being tested by the spacecraft have not been disclosed by China, and the spacecraft has not been publicly photographed since it began operating. The U.S. first launched its uncrewed Boeing X-37B spaceplane in 2010, while Russia has recently launched several satellites that U.S. officials suspect may be weapons, a charge Russia has denied.

Amid escalating tensions between Russia and China, the U.S. has been bolstering its defenses with new satellite jammers designed to disrupt information transmission from Chinese or Russian satellites during conflicts.

Earlier this year, China’s Ministry of State Security reported several instances of espionage in its space sector, accusing rival nations of attempting to steal China's latest space research findings.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari