China's Experimental Space Plane Shenlong Drops Unknown Object in Orbit

A reusable Shenlong spacecraft from China has sent another mystery object into orbit around Earth, resuming its enigmatic voyage.

In tracking space activities, Jonathan McDowell discovered a Chinese spacecraft known as the "divine dragon" in Chinese.

Current Events and Speculations

The U.S. Space Force had tracked an unknown object Shenlong launched on May 24 and given the number 59884 (International Designator 2023-195G). Shenlong's mission began on December 14, 2023, when it was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 2F rocket.

This is the second object drop event of the mission. At this point, no one knows what the object is. It could be a subsatellite or gear thrown off before the mission ended.

Astronomer McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he thought the object might be a subsatellite deployment or a piece of gear thrown out before the mission ended and it went out of orbit. He said he wanted to see if the plane made any more turns or if it would land soon.

China has effectively controlled and restricted all information regarding Shenlong. The spacecraft may have already deployed multiple objects to assess its capability to approach and retrieve them.

The Shenlong works much like the U.S. Air Force's X-37B spaceplane, which shows how far China has made space technology that can be used repeatedly.

Historical Background and Prospective Consequences

Shenlong's third mission is to test technologies that can be used again and do space science studies to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space. The plane flew twice in 2020, but its second flight, which began in August 2022 and ended in August 2023, was in orbit for 276 days.

During past flights, Shenlong has shown that it has X-37B-like abilities, such as launching many unidentified objects and staying in orbit for long periods. The U.S. Space Force has been watching Shenlong since its launch in December.

The comparison of the reusable spaceplane's operations with those of the X-37B may have strategic implications. Spaceplanes such as the Shenlong and the X-37B are employed for significant commercial and research missions, including satellite launches and space travel.

Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, praised the Shenlong mission for its positive aspects. The experimental spaceship is supposed to stay in orbit for a certain amount of time before returning to Earth in China.

While in orbit, the spacecraft is supposed to test technology that can be used again and conduct space research studies. Reusable spacecraft might fundamentally alter satellite deployment and space exploration at a period when space competition is intensifying worldwide.

More studies are being done to make cheap spacecraft that can do more than one thing. The Shenlong and X-37B missions are still going on. People who work in the space business are still interested in and are guessing what might happen to these experimental spacecraft.

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