WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
A top-secret Chinese spaceplane that was launched into orbit last week is sending strong signals over North America.
The spacecraft, named Shenlong after a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology, has released six mysterious objects after reaching Earth’s orbit for the third time in three years.
The objects are being tracked by the US Space Force, but no details about what they are or what they are for have been made public.
Amateur astronomer Scott Tilley has been following the plane and examining the signals it has been emitting.
He told DailyMail.com that they appear to be sending stronger signals as they pass over North America.
It comes just 10 months after the United States shot down a Chinese spy who may have collected intelligence while passing through several military sites.
China’s top-secret space plane put five unidentified objects into orbit after its launch last week, which are now sending strong signals to Earth. Pictured is a shot of the space plane in orbit.
Tilley said he believes the signals point to a ground station or ship near British Columbia, Canada, where he lives.
‘When the space plane passes over me, it only emits on a certain passing path that appears to favor a location south to southwest of me.
“That is, in the passes of higher elevation above me, there are no signals, but in the passes that hug the ocean to my southwest, all my observations of the object have occurred.”
Tilley has partnered with a group in Switzerland that specializes in optical band space surveillance, and the collaboration has closely followed the plane since its launch on December 15.
The US Department of Defense has designated the six objects OBJECT A through F.
Tilley and the team in Switzerland labeled the spaceplane as Object A, which “has now been identified as the test spacecraft by the United States Space Force.”
Object B is “very bright” and showed “features over several passes that we would prefer to associate with a higher stage,” according to S2A Systemsthe Swiss team.
“The light curve of Object D also indicates stabilized attitude control,” the team continued.
Object A is very bright with stable attitude control; The photo shows the light curve captured by Tilley
“Object C appears to be a faint, rapidly rotating piece of debris. OBJECT F is also quite faint, but no rotation has been detected yet.
“We will carry out more measurements over the next few weeks.”
Objects E and D are believed to be satellites.
“The suspected object like the Object A space plane emits signals,” Tilley said.
“An observer in Australia also observed that objects D and E were emitting signals.
“I also just received another report regarding possible reception of signals from Object B.”
Tilley has partnered with a group in Switzerland that specializes in optical band space surveillance, and the collaboration has closely followed the plane since its launch on December 15.
China’s space plane was launched a day after the United States was forced to suspend the flight of its ‘spy’ plane (pictured), which the head of the US Space Force said was “not a coincidence”.
An announcement in the Chinese press described the space plane’s purpose as providing “technical support for the peaceful use of space,” but the nation has kept the details secret, as have U.S. officials about its craft.
China’s space plane was launched a day after the United States was forced to suspend the flight of its “spy” plane, which the head of the US Space Force said was “not a coincidence.”
“It’s probably not a coincidence that they’re trying to match us in the timing and sequencing of this,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s chief of space operations.
Speaking at the Space Force Association’s Space Power Conference in Orlando, General Saltzman emphasized the sophistication of these reusable, unmanned orbital spy craft, which can offer greater operational security than spy satellites.
“The ability to put something into orbit, do a few things, bring it home and see the results is powerful,” Saltzman said.
“It’s no surprise that the Chinese are very interested in our space plane,” he said. “And we’re very interested in theirs.”
However, despite years of promotional photos of Boeing’s US-designed X-37B covert spacecraft, no images of its Chinese rival have been leaked to the public.