Chinese "Shenlong" spaceplane releases mysterious payload

The Chinese aircraft "Shenlong" ("Divine Dragon" in English) is a machine equivalent to the American unmanned Boeing X-37 space shuttle, which has been orbiting for at least 168 days. According to Space.com, experts have noticed that during its third mission, the aircraft released another unidentified object into orbit.

The current mission of the Chinese "Shenlong" space shuttle began on December 14, 2023. The machine was sent into space with the help of a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. Since then, it has been orbiting. The United States Space Force noticed that on May 24, the aircraft launched a mysterious object, classified as 59884 (international designation 2023-195G).

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, wrote on platform X that the mysterious payload "could be a subsatellite deployment, or it could be a piece of hardware ejected prior to end of mission and deorbit (the spaceplane's first flight did something similar). Will be interesting to see if the plane maneuvers or lands soon."

Meanwhile, Space.com points out that an alternative explanation could be releasing an object to test various "Shenlong" maneuvers. This was the case during the second space mission of the "Divine Dragon." The website also reminds us that the Chinese spaceplane has previously delivered mysterious objects into orbit. In December 2023, just a few days after launch, it released six payloads.

Little is still known about "Shenlong." Western experts believe that the aircraft is the equivalent of the American space shuttle Boeing X-37B. This American machine is about 9 meters long and 3 meters high, has a wingspan of 4.5 meters, and a mass of approximately 5,000 kilograms. The Boeing X-37 is designed to operate at altitudes ranging from 175 to 800 kilometres. In orbit, it can reach up to 27,350 kilometres per hour. The United States explains that the aircraft is intended to conduct space experiments and develop reusable space vehicle technology.