The timing of China's launch of its military spaceplane holds significance according to the Chief of the US Space Force. The Chinese spaceplane's recent launch follows a pause in the US military's X-37B spacecraft missions due to technical issues with its Falcon Heavy rocket. Although the orbits of the US and Chinese spaceplanes don't bring them close together, the similarities between the two have attracted attention. General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations for the US Space Force, noted the heightened interest in both spaceplanes and suggested that the timing of China's actions might not be coincidental. China's spaceplane, launched via a modified Long March 2F rocket, is comparable in lift capacity to the US's Atlas V rockets that carry the X-37B. While China refers to its spaceplane as a reusable test spacecraft