Read, Watch or Listen

After nearly five years in geostationary orbit, China’s secretive Xinjishu Yanzheng-7 came into focus when Australia’s High Earth Orbit Robotics released multi-angle images and a 3D rendering. HEO verified XJY-7 as a SAR satellite with a large dish antenna and two fixed solar panels requiring full-body rotation to charge. The spacecraft reentered on October 16 over Tenerife, producing a bright, slow, fragmenting fireball and sonic booms, according to tracker Marco Langbroek. The episode spotlights China’s rapidly evolving but opaque space program and the growing power of satellite-on-satellite imaging from firms such as HEO and Maxar.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.