China’s Space Plane Raising Suspicions as Amateur Astronomer Detects Signals over North America’s West Coast
China’s mysterious space plane has been gaining attention due to the signals it may be sending to a hidden ground station or a ship somewhere near North America’s west coast. Amateur astronomer Scott Tilley has been tracking the craft since it entered Earth’s orbit last week, providing insights into its activities and potential purposes.
Strong emissions at the frequency of 2280 megahertz were detected by Tilley while the uncrewed reusable plane was flying over British Columbia, Canada. “I’m seeing a pattern in its radio emissions while over me and it appears to favour low-elevation western passes,” said Tilley, who had previously helped Nasa locate its long-lost IMAGE satellite in 2018.
Tilley speculates that the signals detected could indicate a clandestine ground station on the west coast of North America or on a ship off the coast. However, he emphasized that this is merely speculation. The secretive Chinese plane, often seen as a counterpart of the US military space plane X-37B, has been closely followed by satellite trackers around the world since its launch from the Gobi Desert last Thursday.
The release of at least six objects into low Earth orbit during last week’s launch has been confirmed by Tilley and a space surveillance team in Switzerland. These objects include the space plane itself, a pair of satellites possibly used to test rendezvous and retrieval operations, as well as debris belonging to the Long March 2F rocket that lifted the space plane into orbit.
The Chinese space plane’s current mission is its third following a two-day maiden flight in 2020 and a second flight that lasted nine months. The plane has reportedly released mysterious objects during both previous missions. However, many details about the craft, including its mission duration, remain unknown.
Meanwhile, the US military’s X-37B, which has been enveloped in mystery since its first flight in 2010 due to its military nature, is scheduled to lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on December 28, further igniting interest in the activities and capabilities of these secretive space planes.