From Aviation Week

 

Chinese Test Anti-Satellite Weapon

By Craig Covault/Aviation Week & Space Technology

01/17/2007 07:45:59 PM

 

U. S. intelligence agencies believe China performed a successful anti-satellite (asat) weapons test at more than 500 mi. altitude Jan. 11 destroying an aging Chinese weather satellite target with a kinetic kill vehicle launched on board a ballistic missile.

 

The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA and other government organizations have a full court press underway to obtain data on the alleged test, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report in its Jan. 22 issue.

 

If the test is verified it will signify a major new Chinese military capability.

 

Neither the Office of the U. S. Secretary of Defense nor Air Force Space Command would comment on the attack, which followed by several months the alleged illumination of a U. S. military spacecraft by a Chinese ground based laser.

 

China's growing military space capability is one major reason the Bush Administration last year formed the nation's first new National Space Policy in ten years, Aviation Week will report.

 

"The policy is designed to ensure that our space capabilities are protected in a time of increasing challenges and threats," says Robert G. Joseph, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U. S. State Dept. " This is imperative because space capabilities are vital to our national security and to our economic well being," Joseph said in an address on the new space policy at the National Press Club in Washington D. C.

 

Details emerging from space sources indicate that the Chinese Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C) polar orbit weather satellite launched in 1999 was attacked by an asat system launched from or near the Xichang Space Center.

 

The attack is believe to have occurred as the weather satellite flew at 530 mi. altitude 4 deg. west of Xichang located in Sichuan province. Xichang is a major Chinese space launch center.

 

Although intelligence agencies must complete confirmation of the test, the attack is believed to have occurred at about 5:28 p.m. EST Jan. 11. U. S. intelligence agencies had been expecting some sort of test that day, sources said.

 

U. S. Air Force Defense Support Program missile warning satellites in geosynchronous orbit would have detected the Xichang launch of the asat kill vehicle and U. S. Air Force Space Command monitored the FY-1C orbit both before and after the exercise.

 

The test, if it occurred as envisioned by intelligence source, could also have left considerable space debris in an orbit used by many different satellites.

 

USAF radar reports on the Chinese FY-1C spacecraft have been posted once or twice daily for years, but those reports jumped to about 4 times per day just before the alleged test.

 

The USAF radar reports then ceased Jan. 11, but then appeared for a day showing "signs of orbital distress". The reports were then halted again. The Air Force radars may well be busy cataloging many pieces of debris, sources said.

 

Although more of a "policy weapon" at this time, the test shows that the Chinese military can threaten the imaging reconnaissance satellites operated by the U. S., Japan, Russia, Israel and Europe.

 

The Republic of China also operates a small imaging spacecraft that can photograph objects as small as about 10 ft. in size, a capability good enough to count cruise missiles pointed at Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. The Taiwanese in the past have also leased capability on an Israeli reconnaissance satellite.

From Defence Talk

 

China Trashes LEO With Debris From Anti Satellite Test

Agence France-Presse | Jan 19, 2007

 

Washington (AFP): The United States, Japan and Australia voiced concern Friday after US spy agencies said China had shot down a satellite for the first time, raising the stakes over the military use of space.

 

Washington said China fired a missile to destroy an orbiting weather satellite last week, making it the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to shoot down anything in space.

 

The successful test means China, which declined to comment, could now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by other nations.

 

The ageing weather satellite was hit on January 11 US time and may have left considerable debris behind. The impact reported occurred more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth, high enough to hit orbiting satellites.

 

Japan, which has long been concerned at China's rapidly growing military spending, joined the United States in condemning the test.

 

"From the view of the peaceful use of space and international security, we naturally have concerns about it," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the government spokesman, told a news conference.

The test was first reported by US magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology and confirmed by the White House.

 

"We are not aware of that test. Usually the media writes stories on hearsay evidence, we don't have time to verify such stories," a spokesman with the Chinese defence ministry's foreign affairs department told AFP.

 

But Japan said China told it through diplomatic channels that its intentions were peaceful.

 

"China consistently uses space only for peaceful purposes," Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso quoted the Chinese foreign ministry as saying, but he was also critical of the test.

 

"We did not receive any notification beforehand," Aso told reporters.

 

The way China handled the test is "questionable from the viewpoint of peaceful use (of space) because there could be concerns of scattered debris," he said.

 

The test would be the world's first since the 1980s, when the United States and Soviet Union both destroyed satellites in space. The two superpowers ceased the tests largely because of the problem of debris.

 

But US President George W. Bush's administration has opposed international calls to end such tests, saying in a policy paper last fall that the United States had the right to "freedom of action" in space.

 

China had been a leading critic of Washington's policy on the military use of space, raising the possibility that the satellite-killer test was a calculated diplomatic strategy.

 

The White House was quick to condemn the test and said other countries inclduing Britain and South Korea would also voice concern.

 

"The United States believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

 

Australia's foreign ministry meanwhile summoned China's ambassador.

 

"Australia sought an explanation from the Chinese government about the nature of the incident and China's assessment of the danger posed by the debris created by that incident," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said in Canberra.

 

Aviation Week said the missile was fired from the Xichang space center in central Sichuan province and had destroyed a Chinese weather satellite that was launched in 1999.

 

China, which in 2003 became the third country to carry out a manned space mission, can now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by the United States, Japan, Russia, Israel and Europe, the magazine said.

 

The test "could also have left considerable space debris in an orbit used by many different satellites," it said.

From Defence Talk

 

China silent on satellite killer

Agence France-Presse | Jan 19, 2007

 

China's defence ministry has refused to confirm it conducted a test in space of a satellite-killing weapon, following US claims that the controversial event occurred last week.

 

"We are not aware of that test. Usually the media writes stories on hearsay evidence, we don't have time to verify such stories," a spokesman with the ministry's foreign affairs department told AFP, refusing to comment further.

 

A senior White House official, requesting anonymity, confirmed on Thursday a report in Aviation Week magazine that US spy agencies had concluded that China conducted a successful test of a satellite-killing weapon on January 11.

 

The test reportedly knocked out an ageing Chinese weather satellite with a "kinetic kill vehicle" launched on board a ballistic missile.

 

The impact occurred at more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth.

 

The White House said on Thursday that the United States, Australia and Canada had expressed concern to China over the test.

 

"The United States believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

 

"We and other countries have expressed our concern to the Chinese," Johndroe said.

 

An Australia's foreign ministry spokeswoman said Friday that China's ambassador in Canberra had been summoned to explain the test.

 

China's foreign ministry did immediately reply on Friday to requests for comment on the issue.

 

Japan has also voiced concerns over the Chinese test and has sought explanations from Beijing.

 

"From the view of the peaceful use of space and international security, we naturally have concerns about it," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the government spokesman, told a news conference.

 

He said Japan was asking the Chinese foreign ministry to explain details about the test, in which the US confirmed a magazine report that a ballistic missile successfully destroyed an old Chinese weather satellite.

 

Japan has recently been improving relations with China, which were badly strained under former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi who repeatedly visited a controversial shrine to Japanese war dead.

 

But Japan has repeatedly expressed unease about China's rapidly growing military spending and urged the European Union not to lift its ban on arms exports to Beijing.

From Defense Aerospace

 

US Calls On China to Explain Anti-Satellite Weapon

(Source: Voice of America news; issued Jan. 20, 2007)

 

WASHINGTON --- The U.S. government has asked China to clarify its intentions following the successful test of an anti-satellite weapon last week that was reported this week by the publication Aviation Week and Space Technology.

 

The State Department has also expressed concern about the space debris that resulted from the missile hit on an old Chinese satellite, saying it could endanger people in space and on the ground.

 

A senior State Department official says the United States wants China to explain why it developed an anti-satellite weapon, calling the move "inconsistent with the constructive relationship" on the use of space agreed to by the two countries' presidents.

 

The official, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity, said the ability to use space is vital to U.S. national security, economic and foreign policy interests. And he said the hundreds of pieces of debris that resulted from the Chinese test endanger other vehicles in space, including manned vehicles, and may endanger people on the ground when they eventually fall to earth.

 

The official said the Chinese test did not violate any international treaties, but did violate what he called the "the intent and the spirit" of the international Space Treaty, which guarantees free access to space for all peaceful purposes. He said the United States "reserves the right to defend and protect its space systems with a wide range of options from diplomatic to military."

 

In a VOA interview before the Chinese test was conducted, the head of strategic planning and analysis at the U.S. Air Force Space Command said U.S. policy calls for the protection of the country's access to space. Brigadier General Robert Worley would not discuss any potential threat from any specific countries, but he said the need for free access to space requires his command to consider how to preserve that access. "We all know that there are some actors out there, whether they be nations or non-state actors, that might wish to do us harm in this area. And so we, like any other nation, preserve and reserve the right to take action to prevent people from doing bad things to us," he said.

 

General Worley says the United States is not interested in developing any space weapons, and may not have to in order to deter attacks on its space assets. The general says the U.S. ability to track everything that happens in space may be enough. "I think there's a significant deterrent effect of everyone knowing that we could attribute a hostile act in space to a particular state or non-state actor," he said.

 

Still, General Worley acknowledges that Space Command has the responsibility to look at additional ways to prevent attacks on U.S. satellites, ground stations and communications links. He would not provide details. The United States ended its anti-satellite weapon program more than 20 years ago after one successful test. It currently has no space-based weapons or weapons designed to attack targets in space. But experts say a powerful U.S. laser weapon could be used to blind satellites, although it was not developed for that purpose.

 

The State Department official who spoke Friday said even after the Chinese anti-satellite missile test there is no space weapons race. A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said Friday China also opposes what he called the 'weaponization' of space, and is not looking for a space weapons race. The Chinese spokesman would not confirm the test, but U.S. intelligence and military sources have confirmed it, as have civilian experts who monitor space activity.

 

Among them is Dean Cheng of the CNA Corporation, an independent research organization. "This test shows that the Chinese have the ability to challenge us in space. The Chinese are a qualitatively different counterpart than any other country is in this regard. I think it definitely requires a response, but I think that the first and foremost response is (to develop) a better understanding of what kind of vulnerabilities we have, given our reliance on space-based systems," he said.

 

Cheng says the United States should develop a series of backup systems to replace military satellites in case they are destroyed during a war. He says the backups could be aircraft or different satellites in higher orbits.

 

Cheng says the altitude where China destroyed its satellite, about 800 kilometers high, is used heavily for military purposes including reconnaissance, navigation, remote sensing and earth imaging, as well as for weather satellites which are also important in military planning. He notes that communications satellites and satellites used to detect ballistic missile attacks fly much higher and would not be vulnerable to China's new weapon.

 

Another space security expert, the Director of the Center for Defense Information, Theresa Hitchens, says the Chinese test should push the United States to negotiate an agreement on the appropriate civilian and military uses of space. "The specter of an all-out war in space, where satellites are being blown up willy-nilly (at will) is incredibly scary. We have the most to lose if space becomes a shooting ground," he said.

 

Hitchens says a new treaty should include punishment for nations that take inappropriate actions in space, like destroying satellites and littering space with debris. But the State Department official who spoke Friday said the United States is not interested in any additional space treaties that might limit its freedom of action in space. (ends)

 

Nations Share U.S. Concern After China Space Missile Test

(Source: US State Department; issued Jan. 20, 2007)

 

WASHINGTON --- The United States and other nations have expressed concern to China about its January 11 test in which a Chinese missile destroyed an aging satellite, scattering debris and possibly threatening the peaceful use of outer space.

 

“We do have concerns about that,” White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino told reporters January 19. “The Japanese and the Australians put out strong statements of concern as well.”

 

News reports also said the British government has expressed formal concern to China about its test, details of which are now becoming public. In the test, China apparently fired a missile that destroyed one of its own aging weather satellites while in earth orbit. Debris from the destroyed satellite and missile still is orbiting and could pose a danger to other satellites and spacecraft.

 

“The U.S. believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said January 18. “We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese.”

 

The United States performed a similar test in 1985, but State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said that test occurred in an era of Cold War tensions when far fewer objects were in Earth’s orbit.

 

In the 22 years since the U.S. test, countries throughout the world have grown dependent on weather satellites, communications satellites, navigation systems “and other devices to be able to conduct modern life as we know it,” Casey told reporters January 19.

 

“And so the consequences of any kind of activity like this are significantly greater now than they were at that time,” Casey said of the 1985 U.S. test.

 

“U.S. policy is that all countries should have a right to peaceful access to space,” Casey said. “We certainly are concerned by any effort, by any nation, that would be geared toward developing weapons or other military activities in space. ... We don’t want to see a situation where there is any militarization of space.”

From DefenseNews

 

Posted 01/23/07 09:14

China Confirms Satellite Test, Says no Threat

By REUTERS, BEIJING

 

China said on January 23 it had shot down one of its own satellites, confirming U.S. reports, but denied it was threatening an arms race in space. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said he knew of no plans for a second test.

Spokesman Liu Jianchao said his government had briefed the United States, Japan and other countries some time after the test. He said they had voiced worries about dangerous space debris and escalating military rivalry in space, but said such fears were groundless.

“This test was not directed at any country and does not constitute a threat to any country,” he told a crowded regular news briefing.

“What needs to be stressed is that China has always advocated the peaceful use of space, opposes the weaponization of space and arms races in space.”

Liu said he had not “heard of plans for a second test.”

This was the first time that Beijing had publicly confirmed the satellite strike, revealed by U.S. officials last week.

The belated response appeared unlikely to silence complaints from other capitals that Beijing had eroded security in outer space, and its own claims to be an entirely peaceful power, by pulverizing the ageing weather satellite Jan. 11.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said on Tuesday China should be more open over its plans for outer space.

“Unless there is transparency, there will be suspicions. It’s not enough for China to just say there was one test,” he told a news conference in Tokyo.

FIRST SINCE 1985

The United States staged the most recent previous missile strike against a satellite in September 1985.

No international treaty bans such strikes, but experts say the floating debris they cause endangers other satellites vital to commerce and security.

Beijing fears the Bush administration’s plans to bolster U.S. dominance in space security could undermine its own security, analysts say. Analysts say China could use its ability to down satellites to counter any spy satellite support Washington might offer Taiwan if war were to break out between the self-ruled island and the mainland.

A Taiwan official in charge of China policy said on Jan. 23 that the satellite test flouted international norms and showed Beijing’s space ambitions were not benign.

“It demonstrated that China has been trying to militarize the use of space and clearly it is against the international interest, not just the interest of Taiwan,” Joseph Wu, chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said in a speech in Tokyo.

On Jan. 22, a U.S. State Department spokesman said Chinese officials had acknowledged the test when they met Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill in Beijing over the weekend.

Asked about China’s delay in reporting the test, Liu said: “China has nothing to hide. After various parties expressed concern, we explained this test in outer space to them.”

Facing volleys of queries from reporters, Liu said he could not immediately answer questions about the dangers posed by the thousands of metal fragments released into orbit.

A senior adviser to the Pentagon’s National Security Space Office, Peter Hays, told Reuters on Monday that the satellite scrap could even harm the International Space Station.

“This is a highly technical question, I can’t give you an accurate answer,” Liu said of the satellite fragments.