--- title: "Man Spots Secret US Military Spacecraft With Amateur Telescope" description: "An amateur astronomer has spotted and taken images of a secretive Pentagon spacecraft whose purpose is unknown." date: "2024-09-24" modified: "2024-09-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/secret-pentagon-spacecraft-amateur-telescope" categories: - "Military" - "Off-World" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "Pentagon" - "satellites" - "spycraft" - "the digest" --- # Man Spots Secret US Military Spacecraft With Amateur Telescope ![An amateur astronomer has spotted and taken images of a secretive Pentagon spacecraft whose purpose is unknown.]() *\Image: Felix Schöfbänker\* ## Reconnaisance Watchers Just six weeks after spotting a [secret Chinese spaceplane](), an amateur astronomer in Austria is back at it again. In an [interview with *Space.com*](), sky watcher Felix Schöfbänker described how he came to capture imagery of Pentagon craft that nobody knows much about. Using a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope that's optimized to track satellites, the Austrian astrophotographer cross-referenced the images he captured with specs from various spy satellites launched by the Pentagon. While most of what he's spotted recently have been known crafts deployed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), including the Boeing-built [Future Image Architecture]() (FIA)-Radar satellites and some Keyhole (KH)-11 orbiters, one stood out to Schöfbänker as nothing he's seen before. "In July, I managed to get a look at a satellite called 'USA 290,' which is suspected of possibly being another KH-11," he told *Space.com*. "But my image shows a different kind of design, which doesn't look like a typical KH-11." https://www.twitter.com/SPACEdotcom/status/1836707771246416357 ## Strange Overtones In the image Schöfbänker captured of the mysterious [USA 290](), a strange five-meter (or 16-foot)-long panel was seen, while KH-11s don't appear to have such structures on them. There's a chance, the space watcher noted, that it could be a solar panel, "although I think it's less likely due to the fact that the panel seems to be fixed on the rest of the structure," which would require the entire satellite to move to track the Sun. Beyond the strangeness of the panel, USA 290's movements were also off. "KH-11s are launched into Sun-synchronous orbits," Schöfbänker said. "USA 290 wasn't." Though he may have on his hands images of classified material — and for the second time this summer, after getting images of a secretive Chinese craft that we [reported on back in August]() — the astronomer isn't worried about getting in trouble. "I don't think that most countries would be too concerned about amateurs like me imaging their spacecraft," he said, "since most big countries have their own observatories dedicated to this kind of imaging." **More on secret crafts:** [*Amateur Spacewatcher Uses Telescope to Spot Secret Chinese Spaceplane in Orbit*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()