HELSINKI — China’s reusable experimental spacecraft recently performed a maneuver to raise its orbit, but it appears it will not yet eject objects as it did during previous flights.
The Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on December 14, marking the third flight of what appears to be a Chinese spaceplane. Little is known about this project, but the spacecraft is widely believed to be similar to the US Air Force’s X-37B.
The spacecraft entered a 50 degree inclined orbit with an initial altitude of 333 km x 348 km. The spacecraft burnt up around January 20, raising its apogee, or furthest point from Earth, to 597 kilometers (597 kilometers), according to U.S. Space Force Space Domain Awareness data.
One week later, the orbit was circularized to a 602 x 609 km orbit. This activity mirrors her second mission for the spacecraft, which rose from a similar initial orbit to a nearly circular 597×608 km orbit after nearly three months in space. .
China has not provided any details about the spacecraft or any updates about the mission, other than a brief statement in state media published on the day of the launch.
The spacecraft is seen as China’s attempt to develop capabilities similar to the X-37B.
“Based on the little information we have, Shenron [Chinese spaceplane] And the X-37B is probably doing many of the same missions,” said Brian Weeden, Secure World Foundation program planning director. space news During December. “That means it will be primarily used to experiment and test new technologies, sensors, and even operational methods.
satellite not yet deployed
Contrary to previous reports, there is still no evidence that the spaceplane has ejected objects into orbit. Deployment of the subsatellite into orbit could follow recent maneuvers, as previous experimental reusable spacecraft mission activity suggests.
The previous two missions released secondary satellites that briefly transmitted signals. The second flight released a secondary satellite after reaching a higher orbit.
Some media reported that a Chinese spaceplane released six satellites into orbit. These reports were based on amateur spacecraft trackers suggesting that some object other than the spaceplane was transmitting the signal.
Six objects associated with the launch were cataloged in orbit. His other five objects were the Long March 2D upper stage and his four pieces of debris, which could normally be associated with a Long March 2D launch.
One of the spacecraft trackers later provided update This suggests that a minor timing issue caused trackers to mistake signals sent by China’s Yaogang reconnaissance satellite constellation as coming from debris associated with the spaceplane.
Three of the four pieces of debris re-entered the atmosphere in early January, according to U.S. Space Force tracking data. The last section is expected to reenter and burn out within a few days. Upper Stage is expected to re-enter in March, but there is a lot of uncertainty.
space plane mystery
The spaceplane flew in orbit for 48 days during its third mission. The first mission lasted just two days before landing at Lop Nur Air Base. The second mission, likely to demonstrate reusability, orbited for 276 days and landed on May 8, 2023.
The gap between the spacecraft’s first and second missions (launched in 2020 and 2022, respectively) was one year and 11 months. The third mission took him seven months.
China has not disclosed details of its reusable spacecraft experiment project. No images of the launch have been released. The spacecraft will launch vertically on a Long March 2F, the rocket used to launch China’s Shenzhou manned mission.
The launcher has a payload capacity of just over 8 tons to low Earth orbit. This suggests that the size and capabilities of this spacecraft may be somewhat similar to the US Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane.
This idea is reinforced by apparent images of payload fairing debris recovered during the second launch and posted on the Sina Weibo social media site. The images could give clues about the spacecraft’s dimensions and shape.
The reusable spacecraft may be an orbital segment operating in conjunction with a reusable suborbital first stage. The reusable suborbital spacecraft was first tested in 2021. The second mission was launched in August 2022. Suborbital spacecraft use vertical takeoff and horizontal landing.
The spacecraft’s developer, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), announced plans to develop a fully reusable two-stage orbit (TSTO) space transportation system ahead of its first launch. CASC’s spaceplane project won national-level funding from the Natural Science Foundation of China in 2022.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane launched on December 28th for its seventh mission. Space activity observers who flew the Falcon Heavy for the first time suggest that the spacecraft was sent into a highly elliptical, highly inclined, and much higher orbit. Higher altitude than previous missions. His secretive and autonomous X-37B reusable aircraft he began flying in 2010.