Shenzhou 5's orbital module appears to have been catalogued:
1 28049U 03045G 03289.17493644 .00175015 00000-0 95377-3 0 56
2 28049 42.4289 23.1889 0001854 247.7925 191.5747 15.78625755 183
1 28049U 03045G 03289.06753963 .00303103 00000-0 16268-2 0 37
2 28049 42.4292 23.8502 0001859 247.8548 300.4076 15.78603417 168
1 28049U 03045G 03289.03519676 .00135029 00000-0 74165-3 0 14
2 28049 42.4271 24.0504 0001847 249.6488 114.5777 15.78574193 160
Also, debris in rather elliptical orbits, apparently similar to that found after
Shenzhou 1, but not Shenzhou 2, 3 & 4, has returned on this mission:
194 X 432
1 28045U 03045C 03288.65756052 .10737333 76147-5 77040-2 0 19
2 28045 42.6001 26.0501 0178040 145.9135 215.3317 15.89505724 93
194 X 450
1 28046U 03045D 03288.40521052 .09777416 75376-5 72701-2 0 19
2 28046 42.5412 27.7067 0191154 149.6856 211.5058 15.86374945 58
202 X 499
1 28047U 03045E 03288.59858718 .06723565 75574-5 70803-2 0 16
2 28047 42.2541 27.1893 0220966 126.2376 235.9125 15.76132015 90
203 X 533
1 28048U 03045F 03288.40919366 .06429926 75357-5 73822-2 0 11
2 28048 42.2728 28.2532 0245114 121.5841 240.9192 15.69973670 66
These objects were ejected at a velocity in excess of 50 m/s about the time of
orbital insertion, when the 2nd stage separated.
There appear to be twice as many compared to Shenzhou 1:
196 X 475
1 25957U 99061B 99324.30213289 -.00002584 81796-5 -21370-5 0 17
2 25957 42.7684 24.7735 0208498 143.0636 218.9194 15.81507095 20
203 X 517
1 25956U 99061A 99324.30184918 -.00002507 79356-5 -27977-5 0 15
2 25956 42.4784 25.3766 0233325 119.0699 230.0385 15.72790458 21
Jonathan McDowell's satellite table lists these pieces as "CZ-2F part".
Did Shenzhou 5 eject twice as many, or have two objects each have been
catalogued twice?
After Shenzhou 1, I had doubted that they were real objects at all, but with the
appearance of objects in similar orbits from the Shenzhou 5 launch, I no longer
have doubts.
I have found that one of them may have been ejected at the time of orbital
insertion, from the object that appears to me to have been the rocket body:
1 25957U 99061B 99324.48312468 .01120080 83940-5 83715-3 0 29
2 25957 42.5973 23.8808 0096522 132.0774 228.8342 16.04716322 53
So far, I have been unable to link the debris to the object that appears to me
to have been the spacecraft:
1 25957U 99061B 99324.60834382 .00606827 83585-5 56001-3 0 61
2 25957 42.5956 23.0886 0095292 134.3737 226.4995 16.02245812 78
I caution that many, if not most, analysts believe that the spacecraft was in
the 16.04 rev/d orbit, and the rocket 16.02 rev/d orbit. I can find facts that
favour both.
Note that the inclination of half the objects is slightly greater than that of
the payload and rocket body, and half are slightly lower. Note also the
differences in eccentricity and mean motion. Their orbital planes also are
shifted relative the rocket body.
Their elliptical orbits remind me of the objects ejected from Zenits, such as
these from the Cosmos 1844 launch:
1987-041C 18410 CIS 104.9 71.0 1142 839
1987-041D 18411 CIS 104.7 71.0 1123 841
1987-041E 18412 CIS 104.7 71.0 1125 836
1987-041F 18476 CIS 105.0 71.0 1149 838
NASA/OIG lists them as SL-16 debris; Jonathan McDowell's satellite table lists
them as "sep motor covers".
The pieces from the Shenzhou launches decay very rapidly, suggesting that they
are low density debris. Could they be separation motor covers? If so, why
present only after Shenzhou 1 and 5? Perhaps understanding the debris will help
settle the question of the orbits of the Shenzhou 1 spacecraft and rocket body.
Ted Molczan
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