New images of a Chinese unmanned spaceplane in Earth orbit reveal details of its third secret mission, including the deployment of solar panels.
Astrophotographer Felix Schöfbänker used a 14-inch telescope to capture the Chinese spacecraft and shared the images on the AstroBin platform. In the images, the shadowy figure of the spacecraft is visible with a pair of solar panels attached to the tail section. This is a surprise, as not much is known about the Chinese spaceplane, including information about its equipment with solar panels. The images indicate that the spacecraft is about 10 meters long.
Beelden van het Chinese ruimtevaartuig #Shenlong in een baan om de aarde, vastgelegd met een 14-inch telescoop van Felix Schöfbänker in Oostenrijk. pic.twitter.com/aNBmyDiVcm
— Marijke Louise (@MarijkeLouisevd) August 5, 2024
The reusable spacecraft was launched on December 14, 2023, on a Long March 2F rocket, which is the third launch of this secret spacecraft. The first flight took place in 2020, when the spacecraft stayed in orbit for only two days. The second one was in August 2022, when it spent 276 days in orbit.
Now on its third mission, the spaceplane is approaching a record of eight months in Earth orbit. Shortly after launch, the craft released six unknown objects in space that emitted signals. It released another unidentified object in May, indicating the end of the mission, but it is still operational.
Spaceplanes are hybrids of airplanes and spacecraft capable of being in space and then returning to Earth and landing like conventional airplanes. Experimental reusable spacecraft fill a gap for a space industry looking for increased access to orbit.
Like the Chinese spaceplane, the U.S. Space Force has its own test vehicle, the Boeing X-37, launching on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on December 28, 2023, on its seventh mission. It is also now in space on a secret mission.
Earlier we reported on how Falcon Heavy launched a secret space drone into orbit.
According to gizmodo.com
