By STACY LIBERATORE

A top secret Chinese spaceplane that launched into orbit last week is sending strong signals over North America.

The craft - dubbed Shenlong after a spirit dragon from Chinese mythology - has released six mysterious objects after reaching the Earth's orbit for the third time in three years.

The objects are being tracked by the US Space Force but no details have been released publicly as to what they are or what purpose they serve.

Amateur astronomer Scott Tilley has been tracking the plane and examining the signals they have been emitting.

He told DailyMail.com they appear to be sending the strongest signals while passing over North America.

It comes just 10 months after the US shot down a Chinese spy that could have collected intelligence as it passed over several military sites.

Tilley said he believes the signals are targeting a ground station or boat near British Columbia, Canada, where he lives.

'When the spaceplane passes over me, it only emits on a certain trajectory of pass that appears to favor a location south to southwest of me.

'I.e., on higher elevation passes over me, there are no signals, but on ocean-hugging passes to my southwest, all of my observations of the object have occurred.'

Tilley has teamed up with a group in Switzerland that specializes in optical-band space surveillance, and the collaboration has been keeping a close eye on the plane since it launched on December 15.

The US Department of Defense has designated the six objects OBJECT A through F.

Tilley and the team in Switzerland labeled the spaceplane Object A, which has 'now been identified as the test spacecraft by the US Space Force.'