NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
International Space Flight (ESA, Russia, China and others) => Chinese Launchers => Topic started by: pberrett on 06/20/2012 07:47 am
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HI all
CCTV-9 are reporting a mystery flash during the Shenzhou 9 launch. They have supplied a video and photo but no explanation as to what it might be.
Anyone care to conjecture?
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newshour/20120619/109595.shtml
cheers Peter
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Without seeing high resolution video, it could very well be the fairing the caption at the bottom of the screen refers to. It seems like the other half is visible on the far left side of the image.
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It doesnot seem like a flashing event. It looks like an object moves at very high speed around 100-120 km altitude or higher. Possibly a LEO satellite or maybe a meteorite.
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it could very well be the fairing the caption at the bottom of the screen refers to. It seems like the other half is visible on the far left side of the image.
I don't think so.. The two halves of the fairing are clearly visible in the bottom left corner of the video
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Although the rocket is steady in view, how fast is the camera panning to keep up with it? Maybe it's just an object much lower, like a plane? Passing, added with the speed of the tracking camera.
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Looks like a weather balloon to me.
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Looks like a weather balloon to me.
Wow! Thank you ugordan! That chart really explains things. If my good friend and I had known about that chart back in 1975, we wouldn't have been so amazed about what we saw! Live and learn.
Cheers!
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Looked like a bird to me.
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Could it be the escape tower jettisoning ?
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I assume it's the jettisoned escape tower, and that matches with the audio on the video; the "flashes" below in the picture being the fairing
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I assume it's the jettisoned escape tower, and that matches with the audio on the video; the "flashes" below in the picture being the fairing
Not a chance. It doesn't begin near the vehicle. It "beings" by entering the frame from upper half of the right side and moves in the 10 o'clock direction until exit of frame on the left side of the upper boundary. Did you watch the video? The vehicle is roughly centered in frame the whole time. The white speck highlighted is not part of the rocket. The word "flash" is a bad translation for whatever this is. Reminds me more of the shots of birds or insects passing through frame.
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I assume it's the jettisoned escape tower, and that matches with the audio on the video; the "flashes" below in the picture being the fairing
Not a chance. It doesn't begin near the vehicle. It "beings" by entering the frame from upper half of the right side and moves in the 10 o'clock direction until exit of frame on the left side of the upper boundary. Did you watch the video? The vehicle is roughly centered in frame the whole time. The white speck highlighted is not part of the rocket. The word "flash" is a bad translation for whatever this is. Reminds me more of the shots of birds or insects passing through frame.
Yes, if you watch the full video of the launch, just before this clip they announce the jettisoning of the escape tower. The way I saw the video, that was the jettisoned tower falling back through frame below the launcher; i.e. it's a bit of an optical illusion.
EDIT: Typo!
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This is a thermal IR image. Whatever it is is hot, my thought at the time was that it was a bird, passing right to left I still do.
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Spysat.
Um, I meant to say "weather balloon."
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Maybe a star or a planet, and the seemingly fast pass is dur to camera movement. Anyone able to track planet/stars positions at Lauch site field of view to check this possibility?
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I assume it's the jettisoned escape tower, and that matches with the audio on the video; the "flashes" below in the picture being the fairing
Not a chance. It doesn't begin near the vehicle. It "beings" by entering the frame from upper half of the right side and moves in the 10 o'clock direction until exit of frame on the left side of the upper boundary. Did you watch the video? The vehicle is roughly centered in frame the whole time. The white speck highlighted is not part of the rocket. The word "flash" is a bad translation for whatever this is. Reminds me more of the shots of birds or insects passing through frame.
Yes, if you watch the full video of the launch, just before this clip they announce the jettisoning of the escape tower. The way I saw the video, that was the jettisoned tower falling back through frame below the launcher; i.e. it's a bit of an optical illusion.
EDIT: Typo!
I don't think it's the LES tower: LES was separated at T+120, while the fairing, which can be seen on the left edge of the frame when the unknown object enters on the right, was separated at T+208. By that time, the LES would be long gone and would be way out of frame somewhere to the left and below. It sure would not reappear again suddenly from the right.
In this launch replay at 1:16, the LES can actually be seen separating and tumbling away down and to the left:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOQht3L8aOs
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Could it be the mini-shuttle?
http://www.timespressrecorder.com/articles/2012/06/21/news/news56.txt
It would explain a lot. It did only land a few days after the launch.
cheers Peter
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Could it be the mini-shuttle?
http://www.timespressrecorder.com/articles/2012/06/21/news/news56.txt
It would explain a lot. It did only land a few days after the launch.
cheers Peter
No. This is Thermal imagery. And how would it explain a lot? X-37b spying tales have been shown to total bunk...
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Point taken about the thermal imagery although the timing of the landing so shortly after the launch does add some weight to the assertion that there is some sort of connection.