| Banxing | |
| Mission Type: | Spacecraft imaging Technology |
| Operator: | CASC |
| Cospar Id: | 2008-047G |
| Launch Mass: | 40kg (90lb) |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Site: | Jiuquan LA-4/SLS-1 |
| Deployment From: | Shenzhou 7 |
| Deployment Date: | 27 September 2008, 11:27 UTC |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Inclination: | 42.4 degrees |
| Apsis: | gee |
Banxing or BX-1,[1] is a small Chinese technology development satellite which was deployed from the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft at 11:27 GMT on 27 September 2008. Prior to deployment, the satellite was mounted on top of the Shenzhou 7 orbital module.
Banxing was used to relay images of the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft.[2] Weighing some 40 kilograms, and containing two cameras and communication equipment, it was maneuvered using an ammonia gas-based propulsion system. Following the re-entry of Shenzhou 7, Banxing remained in orbit as part of a formation-flying experiment with the discarded Shenzhou orbital module.[3]
A few hours after Banxing was launched it and the Shenzhou 7 orbital module passed unusually close to the International Space Station. This provoked some speculation that the experiment was intended to test military anti-satellite interception technology.[4]