{"id":44234,"date":"2025-05-19T00:38:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T16:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/do-these-buddhist-gods-hint-at-the-purpose-of-chinas-super-secret-satellites\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T00:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T16:38:23","slug":"do-these-buddhist-gods-hint-at-the-purpose-of-chinas-super-secret-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/do-these-buddhist-gods-hint-at-the-purpose-of-chinas-super-secret-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Do these Buddhist gods hint at the purpose of China\u2019s super-secret satellites?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mission patches are a decades-old tradition in spaceflight. They can range from the figurative to the abstract, prompting valuable insights or feeding confusion. Some are just plain weird.<\/p>\n

Ars published a story a few months ago on spaceflight patches from NASA, SpaceX, Russia, and the NRO, the US government\u2019s spy satellite agency, which is responsible for some of the most head-scratching mission logos.<\/p>\n

Until recently, China\u2019s entries in the realm of spaceflight patches often lacked the originality found in patches from the West. For example, a series of patches for China\u2019s human spaceflight missions used a formulaic design with a circular shape and a mix of red and blue. The patch for China\u2019s most recent Shenzhou crew to the country\u2019s Tiangong space station last month finally broke the mold with a triangular shape after China\u2019s human spaceflight agency put the patch up for a public vote.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a fascinating set of new patches Chinese officials released for a series of launches with top-secret satellites over the last two months. These four patches depict Buddhist gods with a sense of artistry and sharp colors that stand apart from China\u2019s previous spaceflight emblems, and perhaps\u2014or perhaps not\u2014they can tell us something about the nature of the missions they represent.<\/p>\n

Guardians of the Dharma<\/h2>\n

The four patches show the Four Heavenly Kings, protector deities in Buddhism who guard against evil forces in the four cardinal directions, according to the Kyoto National Museum. The gods also shield the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, from external threats.<\/p>\n

These gods have different names, but in China, they are known as Du\u014dw\u00e9n, Z\u0113ngzh\u01ceng, Ch\u00edgu\u00f3, and Gu\u0103ngm\u00f9. Du\u014dw\u00e9n is the commander and the guardian of the north, the \u201cone who listens to many teachings,\u201d who is often depicted with an umbrella. Z\u0113ngzh\u01ceng, guardian of the south, is a god of growth shown carrying a sword. The protector of the east is Ch\u00edgu\u00f3, defender of the nation, who holds a stringed musical instrument. And guarding the west is Gu\u0103ngm\u00f9, an all-seeing god usually depicted with a serpent.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

The patches for a quartet of Chinese satellites launched since March each portray one of the Four Heavenly Kings. We know little about these satellites, other than their names and locations, and they were reportedly manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a division of China\u2019s main state-owned aerospace contractor. They are part of a series of Chinese missions known as Tongxin Jishu Shiyan (TJS), or what China calls communication technology test satellites. But that\u2019s likely a cover for their real purpose.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

This artwork released by one of China\u2019s state-run space companies shows the Four Heavenly Kings. Clockwise, in order of launch from the upper left: TJS-15 as King of the West, TJS-16 as King of the East, TJS-17 as King of the North, and TJS-19 as King of the South.<\/p>\n

Credit:
\n Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

China launched TJS-15, the first satellite with a Heavenly King mascot, on March 9 aboard a Long March 3B rocket. A Long March 7A rocket launched the TJS-16 satellite March 29, and another Long March 3B deployed the TJS-17 payload April 10. Finally, on Monday, a Long March 3C rocket sent China\u2019s TJS-19 satellite into orbit, skipping TJS-18 in the sequence.<\/p>\n

All four satellites are on their way to, or already operating in, geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator. At that altitude, a satellite\u2019s orbital velocity matches the speed of Earth\u2019s rotation, allowing it to remain over the same part of the planet.<\/p>\n

Notably, ground-based trackers have detected unexpected objects that appear to have separated from TJS-15 and TJS-17 in geosynchronous orbit. These may be remnant rocket engines that helped inject the satellites into their operating orbits, but a handful of earlier Chinese satellites also released smaller spacecraft to perform their own maneuvers.<\/p>\n

Orbital intrigue<\/h2>\n

US officials believe China uses many of the TJS satellites for missile warning or spy missions. In the first instance, some of the TJS satellites may be similar to the US Space Force\u2019s fleet of early warning satellites, on guard with heat sensors to detect the thermal signature of a ballistic missile launch. TJS satellites filling the role of a reconnaissance mission might have enormous umbrella-like reflectors to try to pick up signals transmitted by foreign forces, such as those of the United States.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not difficult to start making connections between the Four Heavenly Gods and the missions that China\u2019s TJS satellites likely carry out in space. A protector with an umbrella? An all-seeing entity? This sounds like a possible link, but there\u2019s a chance Chinese officials approved the patches to misdirect outside observers, or there\u2019s no connection at all.<\/p>\n

All of the TJS satellites are parked in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, or the Western Pacific, except for one\u2014TJS-7\u2014positioned over the Eastern Pacific, with good visibility over the entire United States.<\/p>\n

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A Long March 7A rocket carrying the TJS-16 satellite lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on March 30, 2025, in Wenchang, Hainan Province of China.<\/p>\n

Credit:
\n Liu Guoxing\/VCG via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Mike Dahm, a researcher at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and a former naval intelligence officer, told the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission last year that TJS-7 is probably a missile warning satellite, but it could be spying on signals coming from the US homeland.<\/p>\n

Some of the TJS satellites might also be capable of maneuvering near other satellites for closeup inspection. The US military has its own inspector satellites, known as GSSAP, to get a closer look at interesting things happening in geosynchronous orbit. And the Space Force is using them.<\/p>\n

One of these GSSAP platforms, designated USA-324, approached within about 10 miles of China\u2019s new TJS-16 and TJS-17 satellites on April 26 and April 29, according to COMSPOC, a commercial satellite tracking company. A video animation released by COMSPOC, embedded below, shows how the USA-324 satellite maneuvered close to each of the Chinese satellites last month over the Western Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

It seems the Space Force is intrigued by China\u2019s flurry of new top-secret satellites missions, too.<\/p>\n