Issue 138

TJS-10 Maneuvers Now Heading West

7 Feb 2026: On 3 Feb 2026 Chinesespace operators increased the SMA of TJS-10 (58204)?~140km and initiated a 1.8°/day westward drift. TJS-10 had been at 173.0° E longitude for the past 10 months (April 2025) and has been within 171-173.5°E since arriving on orbit in November 2023. Readers may recall TJS-10 had a visitor…

7 Feb 2026: On 3 Feb 2026 Chinesespace operators increased the SMA of TJS-10 (58204)?~140km and initiated a 1.8°/day westward drift. TJS-10 had been at 173.0° E longitude for the past 10 months (April 2025) and has been within 171-173.5°E since arriving on orbit in November 2023. Readers may recall TJS-10 had a visitor in the form of TJS-3 for its first year on orbit. TJS-3 loitered to the West of TJS-10 for the first 6 months (Nov 2023-May 2024) and then both spacecraft maneuvered to place TJS-3 to the East of TJS-10 for another 6 months (May-Nov 2024). With the experiment apparently completed, TJS-3 then headed west. As of 7 February, TJS-10 is at 166.4° East longitude, the furthest west it has ever been.







1-7 Feb Orbital History of TJS-10 Showing +141km SMA Increase 3-4 Feb (Top) TJS-10 Location on 1 Feb (left) & Location on 7 Feb (right) (celestrak.org & spacemap42.com)