By 
September 19th, 2020
China’s space plane launch on September 4th via a Long March-2F booster.
Image courtesy LaunchStuff via weibo.com
It is officially tagged by the North America Aerospace Defense Command as 46395, 2020-063G, an object that was released into Earth orbit by China’s experimental space plane.
That space plane circuited Earth for roughly two days, touching down on September 6, 2020, apparently landing on a lengthy airstrip in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, near Lake Lop Nor.
But before landing, an object separated from China’s experimental space plane.
Signal strength. Russian radio amateur, R4UAB, has tweeted that the object is transmitting.
Credit: R4UAB
Puzzling object
A global network of amateur satellite watchers is keeping an eye on this Earth-circling space drifter, sharing their observations. They’ve already discerned some characteristics of the puzzling object.
For example, Russian radio amateur, R4UAB, has tweeted that the object is transmitting on 2280MHz. That frequency is used by the Chinese manned space program, specifically Shenzhou, Tiangong, and Tianzhou space missions, notes satellite tracker, Scott Tilley.
Tilley and others have confirmed the emissions are coming from this object via Doppler and radio tracking via a narrow beam width dish antenna.
The emissions where 4MHz wide and unlike telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) signals that Tilley has seen from other Chinese missions to date. “The emission appears to be present for entire orbit based on other reports,” he adds.
Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)/Xinhua News Agency/China National Space Administration (CNSA)/screengrab Inside Outer Space
Alive and tumbling
At the moment, according to satellite observer, Bob Christy of Zarya.info, all that the radio trackers can say is that it’s “alive” and is tumbling – but no-one has yet indicated the object’s rate of tumble. “Fading is caused by the transmitting aerials either pointing the wrong way or getting blocked as it rotates,” he told Inside Outer Space.
Deployed micro-satellite monitored the combined Tiangong-2/Shenzhou-11 vehicles.
Credit: CCTV
Christy is taking a hard re-look at tracking data about the space plane-deployed object. “One interpretation is that the new object separated as soon as the space plane reached orbit,” he said.
Speculation has it that the object might be a Banxing inspector satellite, “probably used to inspect the main vehicle while on orbit and may also carry a science/technology payload,” Christy thinks. Similar satellites were deployed from China’s Shenzhou-7 and Tiangong-2 space lab.
The new object’s first orbit data was published September 6, showing it in the orbit originally occupied by the space plane, Christy notes. “If it is flashing/tumbling, that would indicate its mission is probably completed. Continued radio transmissions suggest it has solar cells,” he concludes.
Credit: Marco Langbroek/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Caught on video
In a new development, satellite sleuth Marco Langbroek of Leiden, Netherlands has posted his September 20 observation of the mysterious “Object A” (2020-063G), left in orbit by China’s experimental space plane.
Langbroek notes that the object does not appear to be just a piece of debris – e.g. some discarded cover. “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.”
The object does not appear to have maneuvered so far, Langbroek adds. “I initially thought that it might be a cubesat, but it appears to be rather large for that.”
In reviewing his video, Langbroek says the mysterious object showed slow but marked brightness variations, confirming reports by radio observers of periodic fading in its transmitting signal. “So if this is due to a tumble, it is a slow tumble,” he concludes.
To view his video of the object, go to:
https://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2020/09/observing-mysterious-object-2020-063g.html
Posted in Space News
