Posted on 09/25/2020 12:52:34 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
China’s new space plane returned to Earth on Sept. 6th.
But it left something behind in orbit, an item of unknown character called “Object A” by the US military.
Last night in the Netherlands, Marco Langbroek tracked it across the sky using a hand-pointed video camera.
“It showed slow but marked brightness changes, between magnitude +4 and invisible (fainter than +7),” says Langbroek. “The light curve shows two brightness peaks, and two major fading episodes. Peak-to-peak period is about 80 seconds, so if this is due to a tumble, it is a slow tumble.“
Object A is also a source of radio transmissions. Amateur radio operator Scott Tilley has detected it at 2280 MHz, and says that the radio signal waxes and wanes with a period near 80 seconds–akin to Langbroek’s light curve.
What does it all mean? Speculation is that Object A is either an inspector satellite used to inspect the outside of the Chinese space plane before landing; or maybe some jettisoned support module.
This does not appear to be just a piece of debris. Radio observers discovered that it sends a signal in the L-band near 2280 MHz, something debris doesn’t do.
So, this appears to be an interesting object that had or has some function, including a radio data signal downlink. It does not appear to have manoeuvered so far, and if it is tumbling (see below) it isn’t likely to do so.
Speculation is that it is either an inspector satellite used to inspect the outside of the Chinese spaceplane before landing: or maybe some jettisoned support module. The ejection from the ‘Reusable Test Spacecraft’ appears to have taken place some two revolutions before landing, or perhaps even earlier
Ping!
Synopsis: The Chinese left a satellite in orbit and no one but them has the slightest clue what it does.
There. I saved a lot of words.
It’s General Tso’s Chicken.
Can whomever’s controlling it, get better clarity for detail?
Just a shiny object to get people’s attention.................
Perhaps the US should make sure its end is very mysterious.
It's purpose could be to see if the US can bring it to a mysterious end.
Then the US should capture the item and return it to the Chinese ambassador in DC at high noon on the Fourth of July.
Is that object releasing Covid showers?
A satellite killer.
part of their quantum satellite communications experiment they bragged about a year back perhaps
I quit playing that game the day i got >6,000,000 points. Wasted a sunny southern California morning at the arcade in Ventura.
Could be a North Korean test astronaut.
This is a job for the space force!
Just like they toss plastic crap in the oceans, they leave trash in space. Barbarians.
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