A mysterious object has been discovered at the end of a remote landing strip in China that has been linked to Beijing’s space program.
Satellite images show the long, white object along with several smaller ones, which military analysts have suggested could be support vehicles or equipment.
The image, taken on November 29 by Planet Labs and shared by The Warzone website, also shows a row of vehicles near the main facility, which has expanded significantly in recent years, most notably with a large new hangar.
The runway, located near the Lop Nur nuclear site, stretches for more than three miles, making it one of the longest in the world.
While it is unclear what the object is, there has been speculation that it could be a plane, a worrying development amid China’s push for global dominance.
It is estimated to be around 32 feet long, comparable to the US Space Force’s two secret X-37B mini shuttles.
Essentially a miniaturized robotic version of a space shuttle, the land on a runway.
NASA has kept many details of the X-37B under wraps, but the secretive space drone could easily be used to deploy weapons systems in space.
Satellite images show the long, white object along with several smaller ones, which military analysts have suggested could be support vehicles or equipment.
The image, taken on November 29 by Planet Labs and shared by The Warzone website, also shows a line of vehicles near the main facility.
The runway, located near the Lop Nur nuclear site, extends more than three miles, making it one of the longest in the world.
China has been increasing its space capabilities at an alarming rate in recent years.
In 2022, it carried out an apparently successful test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle and developed a variety of anti-satellite weaponry.
Beijing has also developed satellites capable of disabling Western orbital technology, and experts say scientists have developed a science fiction-inspired weapon that combines pulses of microwave radiation into a single powerful beam, just like the planet-destroying lasers that They are shown in Star Wars.
In 2016 and 2021, the Chinese space program tested the capabilities of its Shijan 16 and 21 satellites. These are advertised as “space debris neutralization” devices, but analysts believe the technology likely has dual military use.
Using robotic arms, these satellites are capable of “grabbing” other satellites and “towing” them out of geosynchronous orbit about 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface.
This feat was demonstrated by Shijan-21 when it dragged China’s defunct Beidou-2 G2 navigation satellite more than 1,800 miles away, leaving it in a “disposal orbit” out of reach of other satellites.
The capability has divided analysts who applauded China’s efforts to mitigate space debris but also acknowledged that the assets could easily be deployed offensively against enemy technology.
This dual-use technology is also possessed by the United States, which has carried out about seven test flights of a space drone based on the design of the iconic space shuttle.
The Chang’e 6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination sit atop the launch pad at the Wenchang space launch site in Hainan province on May 3, 2024.
Image taken from a video animation at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on June 2, 2024.
China also has a shuttle-like drone, the CSSHQ, although this device has only flown two missions and its capabilities are largely unknown.
China has also made progress in developing the territory it claims in space. In June, China landed an unmanned spacecraft on the far side of the Moon.
The Chang’e-6 spacecraft, equipped with an array of tools and its own launcher, landed in a gigantic impact crater called the South Pole’s Aitken Basin on the side of the Moon that faces space.
The successful mission is China’s second to the far side of the Moon, a region that no other country has reached. The side of the Moon that is always away from Earth is dotted with deep, dark craters, making communications and robotic landing operations difficult.
Experts have warned that China poses a major nuclear threat to the West after it rapidly expanded its atomic weapons arsenal.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defense Staff, said the world was entering a new “nuclear age”, with China posing a deadlier threat than ever.
In an alarming speech to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, Admiral Sir Tony said Britain was facing a new “world order” shaped by its enemies and regional conflicts.
The military chief claimed that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea posed a danger and singled out Beijing as a particular challenge to the United States.
For decades, the nuclear threat posed by China was not considered significant. But Beijing is now expanding its nuclear weapons arsenal faster than any other country.
It is feared that by 2030 the communist state will be on par with the United States and Russia and may soon have an apocalyptic arsenal of 1,000 nuclear warheads.
Speaking at RUSI’s annual Chiefs of Defense Staff conference, Admiral Sir Tony said the world was “at the dawn of a third nuclear age”.