Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
China's reusable space plane, Shenlong, has released an unidentified object into Earth's orbit, according to space activity tracker Jonathan McDowell.
Shenlong, meaning "divine dragon" in Chinese, has been orbiting for 168 days. The spacecraft’s recent activity was observed on May 24 by McDowell.
The new object has been cataloged as 59884 (International designator 2023-195G) by the U.S. Space Force space domain awareness teams.
McDowell speculates that the object could be a subsatellite or a piece of hardware ejected before the mission's end and deorbit, similar to actions taken during Shenlong's first flight.
Another theory suggests the object may have been released for proximity and recapture tests, akin to maneuvers during Shenlong’s second mission in 2022.
The space plane is on its third mission, launched on December 14, 2023, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 2F rocket.
While details remain scarce, a launch report indicated the mission aims to verify reusable technology and conduct space science experiments to support peaceful space use.
This is not the first object Shenlong has released during this mission. Four days after its December launch, the spacecraft deployed six mysterious objects that emitted signals and has since performed several orbital maneuvers.