China’s reusable test spacecraft has released an as-yet unidentified object into space, nearly six months after it launched. This is the seventh object released by the plane since December 14, with the previous six found to be transmitting a repeating pattern.
The latest object, highlighted by astronomer Jonathan McDowell, appears to have been released by the plane on Friday, performing a maneuver at around the same time.
“This object could be a subsatellite deployment, or it could be a piece of hardware ejected prior to end of mission and deorbit (the spaceplane’s first flight did something similar),” McDowell added. “Will be interesting to see if the plane maneuvers or lands soon.”
The object is the seventh object discovered to be released by the spaceplane. Shortly after launch, amateur astronomer and satellite tracker Scott Tilley noticed that trailing behind the craft were six “mysterious wingmen”, several of which were emitting signals.
The objects, which were tracked by several organizations, emitted different kinds of data.
“OBJECT A’s or nearby emission is reminiscent of earlier Chinese space plane ‘wingman’ emissions in the sense the signal is modulated with a limited amount of data,” Tilley told Space.com, adding that objects labeled D and E look like they’re broadcasting placeholder signals, sending no useful data.
Analyzing the data from OBJECT A, amateur radio operator Daniel Estévez found small variations in the transmission, but not much else.
“One thing is clear,” he wrote on his website. “The signal doesn’t have much data in it, as most of the bits show the same repeating pattern.”
The purpose of the additional satellites, or what the seventh object is, remains unclear, and China hasn’t gone into the specifics of what the spaceplane and associated objects are doing. It’s not that unusual for governments to be secretive about their activities in space. Right now, for instance, Elon Musk’s firm SpaceX is working on a classified contract for the US government. But nor is it unusual for governments to conduct research in space, or for spacecraft to deliver payloads for other companies. Though details are sparse, Chinese state media says that the spaceplane is testing reusable technology.
“The reusable test spacecraft will operate in orbit for some time before returning to the scheduled landing site in China,” the Chinese government-run Xinhua News Agency reported of the launch. “During the in-orbit operation, the spacecraft will conduct verifications for reusable technologies and space science experiments to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space.”
