The Drive: Chinese satellite Shijian-21 moved the BeiDou device to another orbit
The Chinese satellite Shijian-21 captured another, spent spacecraft of the BeiDou navigation system, and moved it from geostationary orbit to the burial orbit, writes The Drive.
The manipulations were carried out on January 22. According to their results, the spent spacecraft was moved hundreds of kilometers from its original position. The publication draws attention to the fact that, probably, Shijian-21 works as a space tug.
The Drive notes that China's similar capabilities are of concern, as they potentially allow manipulation of American satellites. Meanwhile, the publication admits that the spacecraft launched in October 2021 was originally created to combat debris in near-Earth orbit.
In January, the US Department of Defense launched a pair of Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) spacecraft capable of maneuvering in space and tracking the status of other satellites into geosynchronous near-Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in Florida on an Atlas V rocket .
As noted by The Drive, an example of spacecraft with similar capabilities can be considered Russian satellite inspectors, repeatedly criticized Washington.
