China's mysterious space plane released an unidentified 'object' in orbit, US intelligence reveals

America's secret space plane, the Boeing X-37B, is thought to have inspired China to construct a similar craft. (Image credit: Getty)

After nine months in orbit, China's mysterious space plane has landed for the second time, making the nation one of the few entities to successfully launch and recover a reusable spacecraft. 

"The complete success of this experiment marks a significant breakthrough in our country's research on reusable spacecraft technology," Xinhua, a Chinese state media agency, reported earlier this month.