All about China
China has just performed an important test for the Spatial Exploration: two satellites in the country approached and possibly coupled thousands of kilometers above the Earth. The experiment is part of a plan to test the refueling of orbit spacecraft.
According to the Swiss company S2A Systems, which monitors spatial objects, the Chinese satellites Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 moved towards each other in one region of space called orbit geosinchron, about 36,000 kilometers in altitude.
Images made from the ground showed that the two satellites came so close to each other on June 14 that they looked like one, suggesting that they took an approach test and perhaps even fitted and separated.
According to S2A Systems X (former Twitter) publications, there was also an approximation on the 13th. These tests serve to train refueling and maintenance maneuvers and satellites, which can extend the life of these equipment and reduce the life spatial garbage.
China demonstrates mastery in sophisticated spatial technologies
The Shijian-23 satellite was launched in January precisely to test this type of fuel transfer operation. The Shijian-21, launched in 2021, was used to push an old satellite to a more distant orbit, where it offers no risk.
Both were built by the Shanghai Space Flying Academy, a Chinese state company. The mission shows the country’s advance in complex space technologies.
According to the website Space.comsatellites of USAcalled 270 and uses 271, were positioned near the Chinese satellites and probably followed the tests. These US spaces are used for space surveillance.
The US also performs similar tests. Northrop Grumman has already been able to extend the life of satellites using specific space vehicles. The Japanese Astroscale aims to test similar technologies soon.
These advances show that many countries and companies are preparing for a future with more durable satellites and less space waste.
Read more:
Unpublished Chinese Spatial Mission sends first image to Earth
Last month, the Chinese launched Tianwen-2 probe, the country’s first mission to collect samples from an asteroid. The launch was on the 28th, at 2:31 pm (Brasilia time), using a Long March 3B rocket, which took off from the Xichang space center.
A week later, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the first image sent to Earth by Spacenave, which is already operating well, more than three million kilometers from here, according to a communication of the agency. Until then, only digital illustrations had been available. Learn more here.
