• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Chinese Spaceplane Tailed By A 7th Mystery Object As 6 Others Broadcast Repeating Patterns

May 30, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

ⓘ IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.

“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.

ⓘ IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.

Advertisement

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.”

Advertisement

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.”

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Events leading up to the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes
  2. “Man Of The Hole”: Last Known Member Of Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Has Died
  3. This Is What Cannabis Looks Like Under A Microscope – You Might Be Surprised
  4. Will Lake Mead Go Back To Normal In 2024?

Source Link: Chinese Spaceplane Tailed By A 7th Mystery Object As 6 Others Broadcast Repeating Patterns

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Biosignatures, New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, And Much More This Week
  • Crocodiles Weren’t All Blood-Thirsty Killers, Some Evolved To Be Plant-Eating Vegetarians
  • Stratospheric Warming Event May Be Unfolding In The Southern Polar Vortex, Shaking Up Global Weather Systems
  • 15 Years Ago, Bees In Brooklyn Appeared Red After Snacking Where They Shouldn’t
  • Carnian Pluvial Event: It Rained For 2 Million Years — And It Changed Planet Earth Forever
  • There’s Volcanic Unrest At The Campi Flegrei Caldera – Here’s What We Know
  • The “Rumpelstiltskin Effect”: When Just Getting A Diagnosis Is Enough To Start The Healing
  • In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
  • This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
  • Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
  • “Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
  • Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
  • The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
  • Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
  • Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
  • Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
  • Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
  • For The First Time, We’ve Found Evidence Climate Change Is Attracting Invasive Species To Canadian Arctic
  • What Are Microfiber Cloths, And How Do They Clean So Well?
  • Stowaway Rat That Hopped On A Flight From Miami Was A “Wake-Up Call” For Global Health
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version