For nearly five years, a Chinese spacecraft has remained in geostationary orbit for unspecified reasons. Virtually nothing was known about the government payload, aside from it being a test of new technology. Toward the end of this top-secret mission, an Australian firm managed to image the mysterious spacecraft, revealing its hidden nature for the first time.<\/p>\n
On Monday, High Earth Orbit Robotics (HEO) released<\/a> a rare glimpse of the Xinjishu Yanzheng-7 (XJY-7) satellite, characterizing its large dish antenna and two fixed solar panels. Using a network of satellites in space, HEO was able to capture the Chinese spacecraft from different angles and create a 3D rendering of XJY-7. The images provide insight into China\u2019s rapidly evolving space technology, as well as highlighting the role of satellite-on-satellite imaging in revealing the hidden nature of spacecraft.<\/p>\n Say cheese <\/p>\n XJY-7 launched in December 2020 on board the inaugural flight of China\u2019s Long March 8 rocket. It was described as a new technology verification satellite developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST), but its exact purpose remained unknown.<\/p>\n The satellite reentered Earth\u2019s atmosphere on October 16 over Tenerife in the Canary Islands, according to satellite tracker Marco Langbroek, who identified<\/a> the object based on its orbit. \u201cA bright, slow, fragmenting fireball moved from south to north over the sky,\u201d Langbroek wrote in a blog post. \u201cSonic booms were heard and registered by several seismic stations on Tenerife. The event clearly was a reentry of artificial space debris.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to its reentry, HEO used its network of imaging satellites to identify XJY-7 in orbit and sneak up on it for a close-up. \u201cHEO analysed XJY-7 with high-frequency Non-Earth Imaging, building a 3D model from multiple angles and orbits,\u201d the company wrote on X. \u201cWe verified it as a SAR satellite with a large dish antenna and two fixed solar panels that required full-body rotation to charge.\u201d<\/p>\n A SAR (synthetic aperture radar) is an Earth-observation satellite that uses a pulse of energy to create high-resolution images of our planet regardless of weather conditions or daylight. SAR satellites are used for remote sensing and mapping of Earth\u2019s surfaces and can also be used to monitor large infrastructure projects or for defense and intelligence purposes.<\/p>\n A technology verification satellite spent 5 years in orbit and most relied on a single render to guess its capabilities.<\/p>\n HEO analysed XJY-7 with high-frequency Non-Earth Imaging, building a 3D model from multiple angles and orbits. We verified it as a SAR satellite with a large\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/aPOOQDq5dT<\/a><\/p>\n