Amateur astronomer catches glimpse of secret spy satellite

An amateur skywatcher from Austria has photographed a top-secret spacecraft launched by the Pentagon that is unlike any he has seen before.

Astrophotographer Felix Schoffbanker used a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope to capture the image of the satellite known as USA 290. He shares his images on Astropinan image hosting platform for amateur astronomers.

Unlike other spy satellites he had photographed before, this one caught Schoffbanker's attention because it had a different design and followed a unique orbit, He said Space.com. The satellite was launched in 2019 aboard a Delta IV rocket. It was described as a “top-secret surveillance payload owned by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO),” according to NASAHowever, US 290 does not look like it. KH-11or the most common model of spy satellites launched by the United States.

“My image shows a different type of design, which doesn’t look like a typical KH-11,” Schoffbanker told Space.com. “My image shows a large rectangular panel about 5 meters long.” The amateur astronomer also noted that while most KH-11s are launched in a sun-synchronous orbit, where the satellite passes over any given spot on Earth at the same local time, USA 290 follows a “weird orbit.”

The USA 290 satellite image also shows a 16-foot (5-meter) panel, another unique feature of this spy satellite. The structure could be a solar panel, though Schoffbanker noted that it is attached to the satellite and would require the entire spacecraft to move to track the sun. Other possibilities include a cooler that acts as a cooling system, or an array antenna for signals intelligence, according to the amateur skywatcher, Space.com reported.

This isn’t the first time Schoffbanker has tracked objects in space that were supposed to remain secret. Earlier last month, a space photographer caught a rare glimpse of China’s top-secret spacecraft in orbit. The reusable spacecraft launched on Dec. 14, 2023, on a secret mission that lasted 268 days before concluding its third flight on Sept. 5.