The spaceplane has been in orbit for more than 165 days. (Representative Image)
The US Space Force has noticed that there is another object that was released by China’s secret spaceplane and is now in orbit around the Earth. It is not yet known what it is, but it has been assigned a name of 59884 (2023-195G), adding to the existing curiosity of the reusable spacecraft mission, according to Spacenews.
The spaceplane has been in orbit for more than 165 days since its launch in December 2023. On previous occasions, this was not something strange since other objects had been deployed and strange signals had been given off from them, as per the media outlet.
However, experts can only speculate about the reasons behind such a move. This particular action follows a similar one during its second flight in 2022, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, who notes that on this occasion, this craft jettisoned an object for proximity and recapture tests over time. Therefore, is this another test repetition, or are there new things emerging?
“A new object (59884/2023-195G) has been catalogued as associated with the Chinese CSSHQ spaceplane in a 602 x 608 km x 50.0 deg orbit. It seems to have been ejected about 1900 UTC on May 24,” McDowell posted on X.
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). Will be interesting to see if the plane maneuvers or lands soon.
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) May 26, 2024
“This object could be a subsatellite deployment, or it could be a piece of hardware ejected prior to the end of the mission and deorbit (the spaceplane’s first flight did something similar). It will be interesting to see if the plane manoeuvres or lands soon,” he posted shortly afterward.
The answer still lies with China, which has maintained secrecy over its operations regarding the spaceplane. In addition, through this incident, China’s space programme has shown just how far they have come while leaving us with nothing but questions about what they really want.
Daisy Hips is a science communicator who brings the wonders of the natural world to readers. Her articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to environmental conservation. Daisy is also an advocate for science education and enjoys stargazing in her spare time.
