A Contra Costa County man bound for China has been arrested for allegedly illegally operating a drone above Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Yinpiao Zhou, 39, of Brentwood is charged with failure to register an aircraft not providing transportation, and violation of national defense airspace, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Zhou, a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident of the U.S., most recently returned from China in February, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. 

He was taken into custody Monday at San Francisco International Airport prior to boarding a China-bound flight.

The drone activity linked to China likely led to changes — including the lack of a countdown livestream and planned launch time — for recent SpaceX rocket missions from Vandenberg.

Federal officials say drone detection systems at Vandenberg picked up the illegal activity on Nov. 30.

That’s the same day a Falcon 9 rocket delivered a payload into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the country’s top-secret spacecraft.

Officials also said 20 Starlink satellites were on board.

The drone flight reportedly occurred after the launch, according to federal documents.

“The drone systems detected that the drone flew for nearly one hour, traveled to an altitude of almost one mile above ground level, and originated from Ocean Park, a public area next to the base,” according to a written statement. 

Ocean Beach County Park and Surf Beach have become popular viewing sites since they now remain open for many Falcon launches.

“Base security personnel went to the park, spoke to Zhou and another person accompanying him, and learned that Zhou had a drone concealed in his jacket – the same one that flew over the base.”

Investigators later determined the drone likely flew 1.8 miles from the park into Vandenberg’s restricted area.

Armed with a federal warrant, agents later searched Zhou’s drone and found several photographs of the base taken from an aerial viewpoint. 

“A search of Zhou’s cellphone showed Zhou conducted a Google search approximately one month earlier for the phrase ‘Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules,’ and messaged with another person about hacking his drone to allow it to fly higher than it could otherwise,” the federal statement said. 

The person who accompanied Zhou at Ocean Park, who was not identified, most recently entered the United States from China on Nov. 26, federal officials said. 

The incident is under investigation by the FBI.

If convicted, Zhou would face a statutory maximum sentence of four years in federal prison.

For the past three launches starting with one on Nov. 23 from Vandenberg, SpaceX has inexplicably skipped broadcasting the final minutes of the countdown and initial liftoff. Instead, the webcast started about 45 seconds after the departure. 

They also provided a broad 4-hour period as the planned departure for the launch, instead of the typically smaller window that includes the actual launch time.

A source suggested the change could be connected to some sort of national security issue, but officials remained mum about the reasons. 

The next Falcon launch from the West Coast may occur as soon as mid-day Thursday. SpaceX has not yet confirmed the mission will occur as planned or if a livestream will occur.

Zhou made his initial appearance Tuesday  in U.S. District Court in San Francisco where Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim ordered him released on personal recognizance or without bail.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is appealing the ruling and Zhou remained in federal custody Tuesday night, said Ciaran McEvoy, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Zhou’s arraignment hearing likely will be held in the coming week in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.