Tight tags in orbit between mysterious American and Chinese ships

The Pentagon's X-37B robotic spacecraft lifted off early Friday, just days after China launched a mysterious craft of its own, a coincidence that US officials acknowledge is no coincidence.

While no one knows for sure the purpose of the two missions, they are likely to be about testing new technologies as China develops a reusable spacecraft to respond to US SpaceX rockets that have revolutionized the space industry.

The US Space Force's X-37B spacecraft has lifted off on its seventh mission, this time using a more powerful SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket that allows it to fly higher than before.

The launch came from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after two weeks of delay due to technical problems and bad weather conditions.

The X-37B, developed by Boeing, is the size of a small truck and looks like a miniature version of the space shuttles.

In November 2022, the autonomous spacecraft returned from its previous mission after more than 900 days in orbit.

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The new X-37B mission was originally scheduled to begin before the launch of China's reusable spacecraft on December 14.

According to Chinese media, the vehicle, which is being launched for the third time since 2020 without publishing pictures of it, will remain in orbit “for some time” to test reusable vehicle technologies and conduct experiments before finally returning to China.

However, it is possible that the secret missions are related to China's efforts to develop its own reusable vehicle, called the Shenlong (or “Divine Dragon”).

A few days after its launch, the Chinese spacecraft launched six smaller objects into its orbit, which American radio amateurs say emit signals of unknown significance.

Before the launch of the Chinese mission, the commander of the US Space Command wing, Charles Saltzman, said that China is expected to launch its vehicle at the same time as the United States.

“It is not surprising that the Chinese are very interested in our spacecraft. We are also interested in them,” the wing commander said, according to the American magazine Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“They are two of the objects that receive the most attention when they are in orbit. It is probably no coincidence that they are trying to reach us.”