Chinese Use Anti-Satellite Weapon

[tomahawk6]

The article states the Chinese tested their anti-satellite weapon against one of their older satellites in earth orbit. Quite a feat and one that will probably encourage the US to field a similar weapon.

http://voanews.com/english/2007-01-18-voa73.cfm

 

[Mike Baker]

Interesting, I wonder if the U.S. will strive to get such weapon systems, unless they already have them.






EDIT: Post #300  ;D

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Does not the USAF field the ASAT that can be launched from F15s still in its inventory?

 

[George Wallace]

Does not the USAF field the ASAT that can be launched from F15s still in its inventory?

They successfully fired a Satellite Killing Laser from a 747 platform last summer.

 

[CrazyCanuck]

They successfully fired a Satellite Killing Laser from a 747 platform last summer.

I believe that was a Scud killer.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Of course, one wonders where all the bleating about the "militarization of space" is from the leftists and peace campaigners out there...  Surely the NDP will hold a press conference to denounce this latest escalation of the arms race...?

 

[tomahawk6]

The US stopped its anti-satellite program 20 years ago. It was deemed to be too expensive. I think that laser technology has really matured and may be the best way to go if we want to take out an adversaries satellites.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050406-space-beachhead.htm

 

[Mike Baker]

Surely the NDP will hold a press conference to denounce this latest escalation of the arms race...?

Oh you know, they are already writing their speech's 

 

[rz350]

Of course, one wonders where all the bleating about the "militarization of space" is from the leftists and peace campaigners out there...  Surely the NDP will hold a press conference to denounce this latest escalation of the arms race...?

They know that telling China or Russia or North Korea to stop doing something that is of their national intrest is useless. Its one of the few things about them nations that we should adopt...the not worrying what hippies think part.

 

[warspite]

So if this thing works they could knock out our GPS network right? Might make world war three a little harder if we don't have any smart bombs that work. Oh well time to go to... PLAN "B".... bullets shells still work don't they

 

[Edward Campbell]

So if this thing works they could knock out our GPS network right? Might make world war three a little harder if we don't have any smart bombs that work. Oh well time to go to... PLAN "B".... bullets shells still work don't they

I would not expect to find GPS at the top of the target list.

This sort of thing - http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/imint/ - see, especially, KH 12 and CRYSTAL - will be at the top.

One would also like to degrade an opponent's C2 system - especially an opponent who prides itself on its ability to win the network centric war.  The problem, for anyone wishing to take on the USA, is that the US C3 system is highly dispersed - especially, it was reported during GWII, that which is carried by satellite.  I believe I heard that something like 75%+/- of the US strategic C3 is carried on commercial satellite systems - the same systems which carry more than 75% of the strategic C3 traffic of all non US military forces.  So, attacking the US C3 system might involve shooting oneself in the foot.

That being said, the fact that the Chinese can attack satellites means that the strategic equation is altered.  This announcement will have important public diplomacy effects - it will enhance China's credibility and comfort America's enemies.

It will, also - perhaps just as importantly, scare the beejeezus out of the Russians.

 

[DBA]

The test was against a weather satellite at 537 miles altitude. The GPS satelites orbit at around 12,600 miles and are moving at about 17,000 miles per hour. So I agree GPS isn't a likely target.

 

[Mike Baker]

This link is good too 


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1580595,00.html

 

[Navy_Blue]

listing to the radio this morning and caught this.  Thought it was interesting and a little scary.

Sat Jan 20, 2:06 AM
TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan has expressed concern after rival China reportedly shot down a space satellite for the first time, saying the act would negatively affect peace between them and in the region.


http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/070120/world/china_space_military_taiwan

 

[CougarKing]

A new test:

link

U.S. sees China launch as test of anti-satellite muscle: source
By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government believes a Chinese missile launch this week was the first test of a new interceptor that could be used to destroy a satellite in orbit, one U.S. defense official told Reuters on Wednesday.

China launched a rocket into space on Monday but no objects were placed into orbit, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The object re-entered Earth's atmosphere above the Indian Ocean.

"We tracked several objects during the flight but did not observe the insertion of any objects into orbit and no objects associated with this launch remain in space," said Lieutenant Colonel Monica Matoush, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The rocket reached 10,000 km (6,250 miles) above Earth, the highest suborbital launch seen worldwide since 1976, according to Jonathan McDowell at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

(...)

 

[MeanJean]

This will spark a new arms race to develop an anti-satellite weapon defence system.  Another excuses for the Americans to spend more on defence.  :