Since mid-October, Shenzhou 5's orbital module has been circling the Earth. It remained in space following Liwei's return to terra firma after spending 21 hours in space, parachuting to Earth in the spaceship's descent segment.

Left to circle Earth, Shenzhou 5's orbital module carries its own solar panels, maneuvering engines, and is stuffed with gear.

British space analyst, Phillip Clark, has been keeping an eye on the orbital module. He told SPACE.com that the module drifted through space uncharacteristically long -- about six days -- without maneuvering. This was unlike the earlier unpiloted test flights of the Shenzhou 2,3, and 4 where a left behind orbital module maneuvered within a day to a few hours following the descent module's recovery.

Since that first maneuver, the module was propelled again after another 12 days. A week or so later, on November 12, the segment was nudged into an even higher orbit. It is expected that the module will circle Earth for some six months.

The Chinese have stated that recent solar activity has meant that the maneuvering of the orbital module has been modified from what was planned, Clark said.

Clark added that the only instrument acknowledged as being on board the Shenzhou 5 orbital module is a high-resolution photo reconnaissance camera system. Such cameras, or similar ones, have flown on the three earlier Shenzhou orbital modules that were flown.

"I would assume that the Shenzhou 5 orbital module will be packed with equipment, science instruments, and both civil and military payloadsif the Chinese distinguish between the two," Clark said. The Chinese usually say nothing about the orbital module payloads until later into the flight or even after the module drops out of orbit, he said.

In a future piloted Shenzhou flight, Clark said his bet is that docking with an orbital module is part of China's step-by-step human spaceflight program.