China carried out the second launch of its "reusable experimental spacecraft" from
The ship has been in orbit for 90 days.Two weeks ago, the spacecraft raised its perigee - or the point in the orbit at which the spacecraft is closest to Earth - to enter a nearly circular orbit measuring 597 by 608 kilometers.
During the last mission, 18 Squadronspace defense of the US Space Force tracked an object located next to the spacecraft. A new entry has been added to the Space-track.org database for an object in orbit similar to the October 31 spacecraft (NORAD ID 54218 (2022-093J COSPAR ID)).
An object whose nature is unknownIn total, it is located in the immediate vicinity of the spacecraft and, therefore, is entered into the database only after it has been established with a high degree of certainty that it is a separate discrete object.
Robert Christie of Orbital Focus notes thatthe release of the object could have occurred any time between October 24 and 31. China has not released any updates on the mission since the brief announcement of the launch of the spacecraft. Images of the ship have not been released.
This is not the first time that a spacecraftejects the object. The Chinese space plane released the object around two orbits before deorbiting at the end of its first two-day mission in September 2020. After that, the object broadcast transmissions in the S-band for several more weeks.
One of the hypotheses says that the objectis a small satellite for observing the spacecraft. Chinese manned capsules have previously launched small companion satellites called Banxing for monitoring purposes. It could also be a test of putting small satellites into orbit using reusable spacecraft.
Another possible explanation is that the object is a service module, astronomer and spacecraft tracker Jonathan McDowell noted in a tweet.
The spacecraft appears to be associated withdevelopment of the orbital segment of a fully reusable two-stage space transport system. The sub-orbital segment with vertical take-off and horizontal landing made its second flight in September of this year.
According to the Chinese Academy of TechnologyLaunch Vehicle (CALT), which develops China's launch vehicles, the project is designed to support the construction of China's scientific and technological, aerospace and transportation power, and also has practical social, technological, economic and other application values.
How long will the spacecraft stay onorbit is unknown, but as with the first flight, it will likely land at the Lop Nur base in Xinjiang. Satellite imagery indicates recent activity near the landing site.
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