Tech
Chinese space drone deploys six mystery objects into orbit – and no one knows what they’re for
Chinese space drone deploys six mystery objects into orbit – and no one knows what they’re for
China has launched its shadowy orbital spacecraft for the third time – and has deployed at least six mysterious objects into Earth’s orbit.
Very little is known about the aircraft and its payload, but it is speculated to lead covert operations with secret scientific experiments.
The spacecraft, which is called Shenlong, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on December 14.
China has revealed no details of its experimental reusable spacecraft project, and not a single image of the launch has been published.
It is understood that the shadowy spaceplane is extremely similar to the US Space Force’s X-37B low orbital test vehicle, however, nothing much is known about its specifications.
The spacecraft is launched atop a traditional space launch rocket and is propelled into orbit using a secondary booster.
It returns to Earth in an unpowered mode, much like an X-37B.
The first mission of the spaceplane was launched in 2020, and the second one in 2022.
The third launch came just over seven months after the spacecraft returned to Earth, completing a 276-day-long second mission.
While not much information is out about the missions, they may have included deploying satellites into orbit while being involved in scientific experiments.
The spacecraft also performed numerous small and much larger orbital manoeuvres during its second flight, Chinese data reveals.
While this is the third occasion China launched its secret orbital aircraft, only this time it deployed at least six different objects – completely mysterious – into the earth’s orbit.
The existence of these objects has been confirmed by amateur spacecraft trackers and passionate astronomers.
Scott Tilley, one such space lover, said that the objects deployed have been transmitting mysterious signals.
Extensive signal analysis by various satellite trackers indicates that the transmissions come either from the objects or from something else very close to them.
The transmissions also correlate with the expected paths of the different objects and also conform to the kinds of signals previously emitted by Chinese spaceplane missions, with the same unique frequency.
Some experts say they could even be transmitting signals among themselves – and that more intriguing transmissions are yet to come.
Interestingly, the apparent US counterpart of Shenlong – the X-37B – was set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on December 7 at Kennedy Space Station, Florida.
However, the mission has been repeatedly delayed, and the next planned launch is no earlier than the end of December.
OpenAI and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank (9984.T) will each commit $19 billion to fund Stargate, a joint venture to develop data centers for artificial intelligence in the U.S., the Information reported on Wednesday.
The ChatGPT maker will hold a 40% interest in Stargate, and would act as an extension of OpenAI, the report said, citing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaking to colleagues. His comments imply SoftBank would also have a 40% interest, the report added.
OpenAI and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank Group and Oracle (ORCL.N) will unveil Stargate and invest $500 billion over the next four years to help the United States stay ahead of China and other rivals in the global AI race.
Stargate will initially deploy $100 billion and the rest of the funding is expected over the next four years. The project is being led by SoftBank and OpenAI.
Taiwan’s HTC (2498.TW) said on Thursday it will sell part of its unit for extended reality (XR) headsets and glasses to Google (GOOGL.O) for $250 million and transfer some of its employees to the U.S. company.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of this year, HTC said.
The two companies will also explore further collaboration opportunities, HTC added.
Google said in a separate statement that the deal will accelerate the development of the Android XR platform and strengthen the ecosystem for headsets and glasses.
Lu Chia-te, HTC vice president and general counsel, told reporters the company had granted its intellectual property rights to Google as a non-exclusive license.
“Therefore, this is not a buyout nor an exclusive licence. In the future, HTC will still retain the ability to use, utilise, and even further develop it without any restrictions,” he said.
Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) LinkedIn has been sued by Premium customers who said the business-focused social media platform disclosed their private messages to third parties without permission to train generative artificial intelligence models.
According to a proposed class action filed on Tuesday night on behalf of millions of LinkedIn Premium customers, LinkedIn quietly introduced a privacy setting last August that let users enable or disable the sharing of their personal data.
Customers said LinkedIn then discreetly updated its privacy policy on Sept. 18 to say data could be used to train AI models, and in a “frequently asked questions” hyperlink said opting out “does not affect training that has already taken place.”
This attempt to “cover its tracks” suggests LinkedIn was fully aware it violated customers’ privacy and its promise to use personal data only to support and improve its platform, in order to minimize public scrutiny and legal fallout, the complaint said.
The lawsuit was filed in the San Jose, California, federal court on behalf of LinkedIn Premium customers who sent or received InMail messages, and whose private information was disclosed to third parties for AI training before Sept. 18.
It seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and violations of California’s unfair competition law, and $1,000 per person for violations of the federal Stored Communications Act.
A lawyer for Prince Harry on Wednesday said the Duke of Sussex had reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s news conglomerate.
LinkedIn said in a statement: “These are false claims with no merit.”
A lawyer for the plaintiffs had no immediate additional comment.
The lawsuit was filed several hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a joint venture among Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL.N) and SoftBank (9984.T), with a potential $500 billion of investment, to build AI infrastructure in the United States.
OpenAI, SoftBank each commit 19bn dollars to Stargate AI data center
Taiwan’s HTC to sell part of XR unit to Google for 250mn dollars
Microsoft’s LinkedIn sued for disclosing customer information to train AI models
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