OM wrote:



...Guys, has anyone verified that this black square is present in
every video frame? If this was a still image, it could have been just
a damn data dropout. If so, that means that Pat has Hoaxland's
Syndrome :-P

No, its on multiple frames, it's how they figured out that BX-1 (I got
the name wrong originally), at least seen from one angle, was
rectangular: http://english.sina.com/technology/2...05/189896.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/...shenzhou-7.htm
(note that ASAT/inspector idea comes up in that description)
Although BX-1 took over 1,000 photos, only a few have been released.
The subsatellite's shape isn't important though; it's whats on the front
of the orbital module that its photographing that's important.
According to this, these are claimed to be "spherical air bottles":
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...bsat101008.xml
But they don't look spherical, and they do look detachable. There's no
reason to individually cover them in insulation blankets when you could
just but a single blanket over all of them and reduce weight while
getting less sun exposure to boot.
There's some footage of the subsatellite in this video clip:
http://v.cctv.com/html/worldwidewatc...081002_5.shtml
You can also briefly see the what's-it's in the animation.

Pat