The American military is worried and does not understand anything
A top-secret Chinese space plane launched a mysterious object into orbit of our planet, located only 372 miles above the surface of the Earth. The US Space Force is monitoring the situation, but the purpose of the object launched on May 24 is unknown.
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A Harvard astrophysicist first spotted the object, suggesting it could be a subsatellite launch or a piece of equipment jettisoned before the spaceplane completed its mission and deorbited, the Daily Mail reports.
The craft, named Shenlong after a dragon spirit in Chinese mythology, was launched in December last year and has since been found to have placed several objects into orbit, some of which have been sending strong signals over North America.
China has been very secretive about the spaceplane, describing its purpose only as «technical support for the peaceful uses of outer space.»
As highlighted by the Daily Mail, the spacecraft was launched the day after the US canceled its flight spy plane, which the head of the US Space Force said was «not a coincidence.»
«It's probably not a coincidence that they are trying to match us in timing and sequence of actions,» said General Chance Saltzman , Chief of Space Operations, US Military Space Force.
And although the Chinese spaceplane has since disappeared from view, the mysterious object is causing concern, writes the Daily Mail.
Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics first spotted the object and shared his findings on Platform X.< /p>
“This object could have been a launched subsatellite or a piece of equipment discarded before the end of the mission and deorbit (something similar happened during the first flight of the space plane), comments McDowell. “It will be interesting to see if the plane maneuvers or lands anytime soon.”
Amateur astronomer Scott Tilley was tracking a Chinese spaceplane in December as it ejected six objects that emitted signals over North America.< /p>
Tilley said he believed the signals were directed to a ground station or ship near British Columbia, Canada, where he lives.
«When a spaceplane flies over me, it emits only a specific trajectory, which appears to indicate a location south-southwest of me. That is, when passing over my head at a high altitude, there are no signals, but when passing over the ocean southwest of me, all my observations of the object occurred.”
Scott Tilley joined forces with a group in Switzerland that specializes in optical space surveillance, and the joint effort has been closely monitoring the aircraft since its launch December 15.
The Chinese spaceplane is currently on its third flight, and US officials have said its capabilities are somewhat similar to the US X-37B, which was launched on December 29, 2023, writes the Daily Mail.
The launch lasted more than two weeks due to launch failures and delays due to bad weather conditions and unspecified technical problems, resulting in ground crews having to return the spacecraft to the hangar.
This happened two weeks after the launch of the Chinese space plane on its third flight into orbit since 2020.
The American Boeing vehicle, roughly the size of a small bus and resembling a miniature space shuttle, is designed to carry various payloads and conduct technological experiments during multi-year orbital flights.< /p>
The planned duration of the X-37B's final mission has not been made public, but it is expected to last until June 2026 or later, given the prevailing trend towards long flights.