Austrian amateur astronomer Felix Schofbanker has once again captured the interest of the scientific community after he managed to spot a mysterious new satellite just six weeks after observing a secret Chinese spacecraft.
In an interview with Space.com, he described how he used a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope specially adjusted to track satellites to take images of objects launched by the Pentagon. Most of the satellites he observed belonged to the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and were already known, among them the Future Image Architecture (FIA)-Radar and Keyhole KH-11 satellites. However, one of the objects he recorded caught his attention with its unusual design.
This satellite is called USA 290, and although it is suspected to be another KH-11, Schofbanker noted that it looked different. His image shows a strange five-meter panel that is not present on the other KH-11s. He speculated that it could be a solar panel, but pointed out the low probability of this, as the panel appeared to be attached to the main structure, which would require the entire satellite to move to track the sun.
In addition, USA 290 doesn’t orbit in synchronous orbit with the Sun, which is typical of KH-11 satellites. This makes it even more mysterious.
Despite this, Schofbanker is not worried about the possible consequences of his observations. He was confident that most countries would not be too concerned about his activities, as the major countries had their own observatories that made such observations.
Earlier we reported on how a Russian satellite was caught spying on another vehicle.
According to explorersweb.com
