The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) labels the vehicle in a 2024 orbital image a “PRC Spaceplane,” without naming a specific Chinese program. The agency released its third unclassified edition of Challenges to Security in Space on October 26, 2026, and says the report’s information is current as of July 2026. The DIA’s release gives the report date and cutoff.
What the DIA image identifies
“PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China. The report caption credits Maxar with the image, but does not name the vehicle as Shenlong or Tengyun.
How WorldView-3 captured the image
Chosun reported on October 28, 2026, citing Vantor, formerly Maxar, that the company’s WorldView-3 satellite captured the image on May 28, 2024, from less than 90 kilometers away.
Shenlong and Tengyun have different launch concepts
Chosun reported that Shenlong launches vertically by rocket, while Tengyun is designed to launch from a large aircraft and then propel itself into space. Those distinct concepts do not identify which program appears in the DIA image.
What the caption says about spaceplane missions
The DIA caption describes spaceplanes generally as able to place objects in orbit, test them, and return to Earth. It does not assign any of those activities to the vehicle in the image.
