For the first time ever, the U.S. Space Force has released a photo of its highly classified X-37B space plane in orbit, offering the public a rare look at one of the most secretive spacecraft in operation today.

The current Space Force policy of seeking to compete militarily with China to prevent a future space war has left America vulnerable to Beijing’s control over the vital domain, according to a think tank report made public on Wednesday.

During the first six missions, the X-37B spent more than 3,774 days in orbit. It launched on its current mission, OTV-7, on Dec. 28, 2023, and passed 400 days in orbit on Jan. 31. By comparison, the space shuttle spent 1,323 days in space during NASA shuttle flights between April 1981 and July 2011.

From time to time, the U.S. military shows glimpses of its X-37B spaceplane, which can travel to space for years at a time. We just got another glimpse. The U.S. Space Force — which took the reins from the Air Force's expansive military operations in space in 2019 — has released a view the robotic craft took from Earth's orbit.