The cosmic drama continues, and amateur astronomers worldwide are on high alert as China’s reusable space plane, the Shenlong or “Divine Dragon,” has reportedly unleashed a squadron of unidentified objects into Earth’s orbit. Just four days into its third mission, the spacecraft has sparked intrigue and speculation among space enthusiasts.
Amateur observers, like the vigilant Scott Tilley renowned for his satellite tracking expertise, have been diligently monitoring the Shenlong and the newfound celestial companions, designated OBJECT A, B, C, D, E, and F. Scott Tilley, referring to these enigmatic entities as “mysterious wingmen” on X (formerly Twitter), has been decoding the signals emitted by these objects, raising eyebrows across the space-watching community.
“We have confirmation of S-band signals from the 3rd Chinese ‘spaceplane’ mission,” Mr. Tilley reported, shedding light on the intermittent signals from OBJECT A. He notes that the emission pattern from OBJECT A is reminiscent of signals from previous missions involving China’s space plane, suggesting a potential connection.
However, the plot thickens with OBJECT D and E emitting what Tilley describes as idle “placeholder” signals, devoid of accompanying data. These emissions, distinct in their intermittency and unique modulation, have raised questions about their origin and purpose.
Tilley and his fellow trackers are confident that these emissions are either coming directly from the objects or from their immediate proximity. Their observations are based on expected paths, the absence of other known objects during data collection, and the unique modulation associated with previous Chinese space plane missions.
“In summary, this iteration of the Chinese space plane mission launched into a similar orbit as the last two, but operationally it is exhibiting different radio behavior than before,” Tilley explained. He emphasizes the need to monitor close encounters between OBJECT A, D, and E in the coming days, highlighting their different orbits and potential interactions.
This isn’t the first time China’s space plane has left space enthusiasts scratching their heads. Previous missions in September 2020 and August 2022 also witnessed the release of small unknown objects into orbit, sparking a spectrum of speculation from service modules to monitoring satellites.
As the Shenlong and its mysterious companions continue their celestial ballet, the space-watching community braces itself for more surprises, decoding signals and decoding the enigma of these cosmic wingmen.