China’s secret space plane emits strong signal to the ground when passing North America: satellite tracker

China's space plane may be transmitting signals to a concealed ground station or a vessel near the western coast of North America, suggests an amateur astronomer who has been monitoring the craft since it entered Earth's orbit last week. He detected potent emissions at the frequency of 2280 megahertz as the unmanned reusable plane flew over British Columbia, Canada, where he resides.

Scott Tilley, the astronomer, shared his observations with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday. He noted a pattern in the radio emissions when the plane was overhead, indicating a preference for low-altitude western passes. Tilley, who assisted NASA in locating its long-lost IMAGE satellite in 2018, speculated that these signals could point to a covert ground station on North America's west coast or a ship offshore.

The Chinese plane, considered a counterpart to the US military space plane X-37B, has been under close scrutiny by satellite trackers worldwide since its launch from the Gobi Desert last Thursday. According to Tilley and a Swiss team specializing in optical-band space surveillance, the launch resulted in at least six objects now orbiting the Earth at a low altitude. This includes the space plane itself, referred to as object A by Tilley, which appears to be highly luminous with a stable attitude control. Likely, a pair of satellites (objects D and E) were released by the plane, emitting radio signals similar to object A, but without any data, merely idle filler. While the purpose of these satellites remains unknown, they could potentially be used to test rendezvous and retrieval operations. Debris from the Long March 2F rocket that launched the space plane into orbit was also identified. Among them, object B was notably bright, and its light curve suggested it was a rocket upper stage, as noted by the European team on a social media platform. Objects C and F also appeared to be rocket debris due to their tumbling and dim nature. This is the Chinese plane's third mission, following a two-day maiden flight in 2020 and a nine-month second flight. The plane reportedly released mysterious objects during both previous missions. No official images or details of the plane have been released, and the duration of the current mission remains unknown. Meanwhile, the Boeing-built X-37B, shrouded in mystery since its debut flight in 2010 due to its military nature, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on December 28.