Sat Tracking Firms Say Chinese Satellite Appears to be Trying First-ever On-orbit Refueling Written 20 June 2025

Breaking Defense reports, “A Chinese satellite designed for refueling missions has been dancing awfully close to another Chinese bird in orbit, raising the possibility Beijing is about to pull off — or already has pulled off — the first-ever on-orbit gas-up, according to satellite tracking firms. Last week Slingshot Aerospace watched China’s experimental SJ-25, which Beijing launched in January and has said publicly was meant for refueling missions, approach another satellite, SJ-21. But the view from terrestrial telescopes wasn’t able to confirm docking, much less refueling, so Slingshot concluded the data was ‘inconclusive’ as to what exactly happened.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

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China launches Shijian-25 satellite
(CGTN; YouTube)