A Chinese satellite has been seen snagging another satellite and dragging it out of geosynchronous orbit and into a super-graveyard drift orbit. The maneuver raises worries about the potential uses of satellites engineered to maneuver close to other spacecraft for inspection or manipulation, and it adds to mounting concerns about China’s space program in general.
On January 22, China’s Shijian-21 satellite, also known as SJ-21, vanished from its regular orbit during daytime hours, making optical telescope studies difficult. After then, SJ-21 was seen performing a huge maneuver to put it close to another satellite, a dead BeiDou Navigation System satellite. SJ-21 then yanked the dead satellite out of its usual geosynchronous orbit and placed it in a cemetery orbit a few hundred miles distant. These far-flung orbits are reserved for defunct satellites nearing the end of their lifespan, with the goal of reducing the risk of colliding with functioning assets.
Exoanalytic Solutions, a commercial space awareness organization, used telescopes to detect the odd maneuver. Brien Flewelling of Exoanalytic Solutions said the SJ-21 satellite appeared to be acting as a space tug during a webinar organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) this week. According to Breaking Defense, Space Command did not respond to a request for comment.
In October 2021, SJ-21, also known as Shijian-21, was launched on a Long March-3B rocket. The spacecraft is classified as an OSAM satellite, or On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing satellite, which is a large category of satellites designed to go close to and interact with other satellites. Including technologies could be used for a variety of tasks, such as extending the life of existing satellites, building satellites in orbit, and other maintenance and repairs. SJ-21 was created to test and evaluate space debris reduction methods, according to Chinese state media.
China launched a satellite called Shijian-21 in Nov. Look at these pictures to see what it can do. 😎 pic.twitter.com/YT7lgpOitA
— 彩云香江 (@louischeung_hk) January 4, 2022
