China calls it a reusable experimental spacecraft, and the launch took place on August 4 in the Gobi Desert. The country launched a similar craft in 2020, but it’s unclear what — if anything — separates the two.

Vague information from China

A Long March 2F rocket took the new spacecraft into low orbit. The predecessor only orbited for two days, with the craft releasing a small payload beforehand it landed like an airplane in western China. That’s what Space.com writes.

But after nearly six days, Forbes reported that the latest space plane was still in orbitand at the time of writing there are no reports that the craft has landed.

China’s state news agency Xinhua reports the vaguely described plan is for the craft to remain in orbit “for a certain period of time” and test certain technologies, as well as “gather technical knowledge for peaceful use in space.”

“Could be about surveillance”

According to Forbes, the design bears strong similarities to the US Space Force’s X37B space plane, which has been in continuous orbit for a full two years.

The newspaper states that no one knows what the goals of either the US or China are, but a good guess is that it is about surveillance.