Mystery once again surrounds a Chinese spacecraft after releasing an unidentified object into orbit. The United States Space Force is currently tracking this object, which apparently was released on May 24th around 22:00 hours (Spanish peninsular time).
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, reported on this event on Twitter, stating that “this object could be the deployment of a subsatellite, or it could be a piece of hardware ejected before the end of the mission and put into orbit“. McDowell also added that “it will be interesting to see if the plane maneuvers or lands soon”.
Spaceplanes are hybrids between airplanes and spacecraft, and they are launched into space by rockets. They operate as spacecraft in orbit and as normal airplanes when reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. If successful, they could become valuable reusable spacecraft, in a context where the number of satellite launches and other space missions is increasing.
The Chinese space plane was launched on December 14th aboard a Long March 2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Launch Center in China. In this mission, the vehicle initially deployed six objects emitting various signals. The recent release of this unidentified object could be an indication that the spacecraft is preparing to return to Earth after 164 days in orbit.
This spacecraft is a project of the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a state entity that manufactures launch vehicles for both civilian and military uses. Its inaugural flight took place in 2020, remaining in orbit for only two days before landing. On its second mission, it took off in August 2022 and spent 276 days in orbit.
During its previous missions, the spacecraft has put other mysterious objects into orbit without revealing their purposes. China has kept the development of this reusable spacecraft a secret, sharing little information about it. According to the Chinese state media Xinhuanet, “after operating in orbit for a period of time, the experimental spacecraft will return to the designated landing site in China” and during this time “it will carry out reusable technology verification and space science experiments as planned, providing technical support for the peaceful use of space”.
