China Puts Shijian-31 in 12.5-Hour Orbit to Scan Entire Geostationary Belt in 23 Days
Updated
Updated · Zamin · Jul 23
China Puts Shijian-31 in 12.5-Hour Orbit to Scan Entire Geostationary Belt in 23 Days
2 articles · Updated · Zamin · Jul 23
Summary
Launched on June 16, Shijian-31 was placed in an unusual 12.5-hour orbit that lets it monitor the full geostationary belt, according to tracking data from Integrity ISR and ComSpOC.
Each pass shifts the satellite’s viewing point by 15.7 degrees in longitude, and its 39,900-km apogee gives it a top-down view of the belt about 35,786 km above Earth.
CASC says the satellite is for space environment research, but analysts note earlier Shijian craft handled tasks such as orbital monitoring and in-orbit refueling.
Its roughly 2,000-km minimum altitude and distance from other inspector satellites make ground tracking difficult, while the orbit could let it enter the geostationary belt with little fuel for close approaches.
With a tiny engine burn, Shijian-31 could approach geostationary satellites; what is this stealthy spacecraft really hunting in Earth's highest orbits?
Why is China hiding images of a spacecraft that has the unprecedented ability to spy on every major satellite in geostationary orbit?