Shenlong spaceplane to fly over U.S. skies this week
Under good conditions it can be seen with the naked eye, and the best passes come in the hour before dawn.
31 Oct 2026 0 reads Compiled with AI
China's reusable spacecraft Shenlong is on its fourth mission and will pass over the United States between Oct. 30 and early November. The Chinese space agency says the craft is testing technologies that could make future round-trip travel to space more convenient and affordable. Spaceweather.com reports that when conditions are right, Shenlong is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. The satellite will drift across the sky in a series of high-altitude passes visible from many U.S. locations.
When and where to see the spacecraft
Heavens-Above lists several chances to see it from American cities, with the highest passes in the predawn sky. New York will see the craft at 78° above the horizon on Nov. 1, from 5:20 to 5:28 a.m. EST. Chicago reaches 85° on Nov. 3, from 4:37 to 4:42 a.m. CST. Denver gets it at 73° on Nov. 2, from 5:05 to 5:12 a.m. MST, and Los Angeles at 83° on Nov. 2, from 5:42 to 5:51 a.m. PST. Other passes sit lower in the sky but are still worth a look if the weather holds.
To catch Shenlong, you need a dark sky and an early alarm. Head to a place away from city lights and check local predictions on Heavens-Above by entering your location and searching for "PRC TEST SPACECRAFT 4." The site shows a detailed sky chart for each upcoming pass, with where to look and the spacecraft's expected path.
What it looks like: Shenlong appears as a small, steadily moving point of light, similar to other satellites. Veteran observer Paul Maley estimated its brightness at its peak between magnitude +2.5 and +3.5, which made it easily visible under dark skies. It can fade to about +6 when conditions are less favorable. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency has released a new photograph of the spacecraft, offering a rare glimpse of it.
The vehicle is a reusable spacecraft that launches on a rocket and returns for a runway landing, much like the U.S. military's X-37B space plane. China has revealed little else about its activities, although the spacecraft has been observed interacting with other objects in orbit.