{
  "id": "china-spaceplane",
  "name": "Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft (CSSHQ)",
  "aliases": [
    "Shenlong",
    "CSSHQ"
  ],
  "domain": "space",
  "country": "CHN",
  "category": "Reusable uncrewed spaceplane",
  "status": "in-service",
  "fielded": null,
  "operators": [
    "CHN"
  ],
  "summary": "China's classified reusable spaceplane, launched from Jiuquan and believed to land at Lop Nur.",
  "specs": [
    {
      "k": "orbit_regime",
      "v": "LEO",
      "src": [
        "swf-csshq"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "first_launch",
      "v": 2020,
      "src": [
        "swf-csshq"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "mission",
      "v": "Released small satellites on its first three missions; limited RPO, capture and orbit raising",
      "src": [
        "swf-csshq"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "program",
      "v": "Fourth mission in 2026",
      "src": [
        "swf-csshq"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    }
  ],
  "payloads": [],
  "variants": [],
  "art": "satellite",
  "image": null,
  "verified": null,
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Entry created from cited open sources"
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://www.defensepedia.com/systems/china-spaceplane.html",
  "sources": {
    "swf-csshq": {
      "title": "Chinese Reusable Experimental Spacecraft fact sheet",
      "publisher": "Secure World Foundation",
      "url": "https://www.swfound.org/publications-and-reports/chinese-reusable-experimental-spacecraft-fact-sheet",
      "published": "2026-06-15",
      "tier": 2,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    }
  }
}