In mid-March 2024, it was revealed that the launch of two Chinese satellites had failed. The booster failed to maintain the correct orbit and the payload failed to reach the target orbit. Officially, the mission was deemed an emergency, but no details were reported about its objectives and the course of the flight. New data from American space intelligence showed that the devices were definitely not lost: They performed a maneuver to change orbit.

portal Space News According to the 18th Aerospace Defense Squadron (18 GBF) An object with an international identifier belonging to the US Space Force 2024-048A It changed the altitude of its orbit from 525×32.575 kilo 9 at least once from March 14 to March 26. This object is associated with the March 13 launch of the Changzheng-2C launch vehicle and appears to be either a booster (third stage) or payload attached to an adapter, or one of two satellites DRO-A And B.It served as a burden.

By all indications, China is trying to fulfill at least some of the tasks set before the failed Moon mission. But Sky did not report any details about these maneuvers, and there were at least two maneuvers because the object not only rose apogee but also perigee of its orbit.

As is often the case in Chinese aviation, the targets, capabilities and technical characteristics of DROs are not reliably known -A And B. There are only indirect signs from which American space intelligence experts can draw general conclusions.

Launch parameters of the carrier “Changzhen-2C” (CZ-2C) Similar to the moon launch on March 13th. At least China has claimed closed airspace zones (drop zones of spent first and second stages) typical for launch to geostationary orbit or lunar orbit. A few hours after the launch, Xinhua News Agency, the official state media of the People’s Republic of China government, published a short note (in Chinese, English) about the mission failure. Yuanzheng-1S booster unit (YZ-1S) could not extract satellites correctly DRO-A And DRO-B to target orbit. At the same time, it was emphasized that “destruction efforts will begin in the near future.”

p align=»justify»> It is difficult to interpret the statement about destruction otherwise as the reduction of the payload from orbit into the dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere or its transfer to burial orbit. Judging by the data 18 GBF The tracked object will definitely not return home, on the contrary, it is moving away from the Earth. If 2024-048A – these are both side by side satellites and they have enough energy to increase their apogee to almost 100 thousand kilometers, a bit like a burying maneuver.

To transition into a distant retrograde lunar orbit (distant retrograde orbit, DRO) had very little. The exact perigee point at which this is possible 2024-048AIt is difficult to calculate, but it is located approximately 320 thousand kilometers from the Earth. To increase its orbit from 225 thousand kilometers to this altitude, much less fuel is required compared to the previous maneuver. It seems that Chinese space engineers decided to make the most of satellites under current conditions and test them at the maximum possible distance.

About what task? DRO-A And B can only be evaluated as: Publication removed from open access in the Chinese edition Journal of Deep Space Exploration (archive copy). In the article, scientists proposed testing the navigation system in lunar space with the help of three satellites: one in low Earth orbit and two in far lunar orbit. The English abbreviation for this orbit (DRO) speaks for itself on behalf of the satellites and is the first apparatus of the grouping (DRO-L) was released in February 2024.

The unsuccessful results of the lunar space navigation experiment should not negatively impact China’s current program in studying and managing the moon. This is more of a side project that, if successful, will allow you to expand the possibilities a bit.

One week after launch DRO-A And B. China has launched the Qiueqiao-2 spacecraft, a relay satellite and radio telescope, to operate in a highly elliptical lunar orbit. It will transmit signals from the soil collection mission on the far side of the Moon, planned for late 2024. Qiueqiao-2 also carries various scientific instruments on board. So far the mission is going exactly as planned.