"The maneuver raises questions about the potential applications of these types of satellites designed to maneuver close to other satellites for inspection or manipulation and adds to growing concerns about China's space program overall." On January 22, China's Shijian-21 satellite, or SJ-21, disappeared from its regular position in orbit during daylight hours when observations were difficult to make with optical telescopes. SJ-21 was then observed executing a "large maneuver" to bring it closely alongside another satellite, a dead BeiDou Navigation System satellite. SJ-21 then pulled the dead satellite out of its normal geosynchronous orbit and placed it a few hundred miles away in what is known as a graveyard orbit. These distant orbits are designated for defunct satellites at the end of their lives and are intended to reduce the risk of collision with operational assets....
According to Chinese state news outlets, SJ-21 was designed to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies.
Questions and concerns about these types of satellites and their potential for military use have been raised by the recent maneuver. Todd Harrison, director of CSIS's Aerospace Project, said that while we can observe the satellite's actions, there are more questions than answers.
This is not the first time that SJ-21 has made headlines. An unknown object was seen in the sky just a month after it was launched. At the time, Space Force designated the object as a spent apogee kick motor, but it was also reported that it might have been an experiment designed to test the ability to perform remote operations and manipulate other satellites.
Analyzing the potential applications of these dual-use satellites is difficult.
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