Here’s what we know – and don’t – about China’s space plane. The term “space plane” often evokes NASA’s Space Shuttle, which flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, carrying astronauts into orbit and helping to construct the International Space Station. Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesWhat do we know about China’s space plane program? China’s space plane development comes as a growing number of countries are paying attention to the deepening connections between security on Earth and in space – and vying for so-called counterspace technologies with the potential to disrupt or even destroy adversaries’ assets in space. But observers have also raised questions about the activities of the space plane, including its own deployment of multiple small satellites.

---

Persons: –, “ It’s, Chance Saltzman, NASA's, “, It’s, ”, Juliana Suess, Clayton Swope, Joe Skipper, Brendan Mulvaney Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Boeing, Xinhua, Shuttle, Space, Space Force, Columbia, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, US Space Shuttle, Hulton, China Aerospace Science, Technology Corporation, Royal United Services Institute, Aerospace Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, SpaceX, Earth, US Space Force, United, Foundation, China Aerospace Studies Institute, US Air Force Locations: China, Hong Kong, United States, Soviet, “, Florida, Xinjiang, London, Washington