Chinese Space Program:

China just tested another anti-satellite missile





China recently conducted a flight test of a new missile capable of knocking out U.S. satellites as part of Beijing’s growing space warfare arsenal.The test of a Dong Neng-3 exo-atmospheric vehicle was carried out Oct. 30 from China’s Korla Missile Test Complex in western China, said two defense officials familiar with reports of the test.

A Chinese press report also provided details of what was said to be a missile defense interceptor flight test carried out Nov. 1. Photos of the missile’s contrails were posted online.However, the defense officials said the DN-3 is primarily a direct-ascent missile designed to ram into satellites and destroy them, even if intelligence assessments hold that the weapon has some missile defense capabilities.

The DN-3 flight test was the eighth time China carried out an anti-satellite missile test. An earlier test occurred in July 2014, which China also asserted was a missile defense test.

State Department and Pentagon officials declined to comment on the anti-satellite test.A Chinese Embassy spokesman said: “I don’t have detailed information about the missile test you mentioned.”“China advocates for the peaceful use of outer space, and opposes space weaponization or arms race in space,” the spokesman said in an email.

A State official referred to a speech from February by Frank Rose, assistant secretary of State for arms control, verification and compliance, who commented on the 2014 test.“Despite China’s claims that this was not an ASAT [anti-satellite] test; let me assure you the United States has high confidence in its assessment, that the event was indeed an ASAT test,” Rose said.

“The continued development and testing of destructive ASAT systems is both destabilizing and threatens the long-term security and sustainability of the outer space environment,” he added.China’s most disruptive ASAT test occurred in January 2007 when a direct ascent missile destroyed a Chinese weather satellite, creating tens of thousands of debris pieces that pose a continuing danger to both satellites and manned spacecraft, like the International Space Station.

Rose said the secrecy surrounding China’s ASAT program is preventing any U.S. cooperation with Beijing on space. Cooperation will only possible after “China changes its behavior with regard to ASATs,” he said.

Documents disclosed by Wikileaks revealed that the United States and Asian allies issued protests to China over a January 2010 flight test of an anti-satellite missile from an SC-19 rocket booster. It could not be learned if protests were lodged over the Oct. 30 test.

China’s Guancha.com reported Nov. 1 that the unusual contrails near the city of Korla, in Xinjiang province, that appeared to be signs of a spacecraft launch or possibly “a midcourse anti-missile test.”“In recent years, similar clouds have appeared over the skies of Xinjiang many times,” the report said. “A few of them have been linked to land-based midcourse anti-missile interception tests.”

Hong Kong’s Ming Pao then reported Nov. 4 that the test appear to be a “final-phase missile interception test had been conducted in the upper atmosphere.” “The capability to intercept was one of the capabilities of the PRC Hongqi-19 missile, and may be employed to intercept high supersonic gliding targets on the offensive,” Ming Pao stated.

A forthcoming report by the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission contains an entire chapter on China’s military and civilian space capabilities.The report discusses two anti-satellite missiles, the SC-19 and the larger DN-2, which are meant to be fired in pre-determined flight paths as a satellite passes over Chinese territory.The report suggests that China disguised its anti-satellite tests in 2010, 2013, and 2014 as missile defense interceptor tests. It stated that each test involved a high-speed intercept of a mock warhead launched by a ballistic missile and not a satellite as a way to avoid debris.

“Although China has called these tests ‘land-based missile interception tests,’ available evidence suggests they were indeed antisatellite tests,” the report said.The May 2013 DN-2 anti-satellite test involved “nearly geosynchronous orbit” where most intelligence and navigation satellites are located. The commission described that test as demonstrating “a new high-altitude anti-satellite capability” that could be deployed as early as 2020.

The 2013 test, which reached 18,600 miles into space, was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.Since 2005, China has conducted seven anti-satellite direct-ascent missile tests, according to the commission report. The report did not include the latest DN-3 test.



U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission : “China is pursuing a broad and robust array of counterspace capabilities, which includes direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers, and directed energy weapons,” the report said.

Air Force Lt. Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space, said at a House hearing in March that “we are quickly approaching the point where every satellite in every orbit can be threatened.”Rick Fisher, a military analyst with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said if the DN-3 interceptor test is confirmed, “this is the first mention of the DN-3, apparently either a modified version of the DN-2 or a new anti-satellite weapon.”Fisher said the missile designated as the DN-1 was based on the SC-19 anti-satellite missile first tested in 2007, and that the DN-1’s booster appeared to be based on the KT-1 solid-fueled space launch vehicle, produced by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. “It would follow that the DN-2 and DN-3 may also be [the corporation’s] products,” he said.

China recently developed two new and more powerful space launchers called the KZ-1 and KZ-11.A DN-3 weapon based on the KZ-11 launcher would be capable of hitting targets at higher orbits.If the recent test involved missile defenses, “China may be developing [anti-ballistic missile] ABM systems capable of intercepts at much longer ranges than U.S. Ground-Based Interceptors based at Fort Greely in Alaska,” Fisher said.

China has been harshly critical of U.S. missile defenses and has said it opposes all space weapons.However, the development of both missile defenses and anti-satellite missiles by China has been underway since the early 1990s, Fisher said.

“The United States so far has not developed very high-altitude ASAT systems like the DN-2 and DN-3, also proving that China has little intention to follow the example of American restraint,” he said.






A report by the Rand Corporation published in September concluded that the Chinese threat to U.S. satellites is increasing.“The risk to most U.S. space functions appears to be growing faster than the U.S. ability or effort to mitigate them,” the report said, noting that Chinese space warfare capabilities “are increasing across the board.”

“In a number of areas, the U.S. military is taking steps to mitigate the threat,” the report said. “Whether these efforts succeed in making U.S. systems safe or, at least, unattractive targets should a U.S.-China conflict occur will depend on what investments the United States makes in space defense in the coming years and whether it can find ways to reduce its systems’ vulnerabilities.”

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, head of the Air Force Space Command told CBS’s 60 Minutes in April that U.S. weapons are being developed to counter China’s space arms.Hyten said if U.S. satellites are threatened, “we have the right of self defense and we’ll make sure we can execute that right.”

On the possible future use of military force in space, Hyten bluntly said: “That’s why we have a military … I’m not NASA.”Defense Secretary Ash Carter told sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt last week that the Pentagon is closely watching Chinese weapons developments. “And so, we see them building a system that’s new, we make sure we have countermeasures to that and actually, we’re making new substantial investments, new investments,” he said, noting electronic warfare, cyber defenses, air defenses, cruise missile defenses.

“All that’s really important because we’ve got to make sure the balance doesn't change here, qualitatively or quantitatively, and we’re not going to let that happen,” Carter said.

China Creates Cyberwarfare Military Branch

China's Central Military Council announced on Jan 1 that it has created three new military forces; one of these, according to the council's website, deals with what it calls 'cyber war forces.'

The new forces include the General Command for the People's Liberation Army (a central command for ground forces), the Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force. During the ceremony for the new forces in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping passed the flags to the units.

"Song said this new force is mainly aimed at providing resources capable of protecting China's cyber and space security," an article on the Chinese Defense Ministry website said.

President Xi Jinping also emphasized the new force's adherence to China's current ideological rhetoric of the "Chinese dream."

"The creation of the general command, rocket force and strategic support force is very important for the implementation of the Chinese dream about strengthening the army in light of the current situation. This a strategic measure to create a modern military system, taking into consideration the specificity of China," Xi said, as quoted in the statement.

According to the statement, the aim of creating new units was to enhance the preparedness of the Chinese army.
The People's Liberation Army is the biggest army in the world with a strength of more than two million military personnel. Beijing also possesses nuclear weapons and an aircraft carrier; a second one is under construction. These factors make the Chinese army one of the strongest and best-equipped in the world.

China conducted a test in October of a new missile capable of destroying US satellites. The Dong Neng-3 exoatmospheric vehicle test is the eighth anti-satellite missile test China has conducted, according to a US congressional report.

China claims to have finished building the world's most powerful ion thruster for space rockets. These new ion thrusters are 10 times more fuel efficient than rocket engines which burn chemicals, according to a mainland media report.

China hails its new ion thruster for rockets as the world’s best

Interesting cause:
http://tass.ru/en/science/849640

sepheronx wrote:Interesting cause:
http://tass.ru/en/science/849640

They've been doing it since 1970s.

China Reveals Plans to Leave NASA’s Hubble in the Dust of Space




China’s proposed orbital telescope will provide for a field of view 300 times that of Hubble, and will dramatically boost space exploration.

According to the English-language edition of the Chinese People's Daily, the People's Republic of China intends to place a new telescope into orbit. The unnamed telescope will be similar to Hubble, but with a field of view as much as 300 times larger. An official announcement was made by Zhang Yulin, Deputy to the National People's Congress and Deputy Minister of Central Military Commission Equipment Development Department.

The statement projects that within ten years of orbital observations, the telescope will be able to capture about 40 percent of known space, providing data that help China to "make breakthrough developments on the origin, development, and evolution of the universe".

The telescope will be able to dock with the Chinese Tiangong space station (presumably, Tiangong-3, given its modular design) in the event of maintenance or malfunction, allowing astronauts to perform repairs. NASA currently must launch a special mission to Hubble if maintenance is required. Using a space station as a maintenance dock for orbital telescopes is a first for China, and the world.

No launch date for the telescope has been named, but it is thought that it will occur after 2020, around the time that the Tiangong-3 space station will be placed into orbit.

The space telescope's imaging technology would make it capable of identifying exoplanets and possibly identifying dark matter and dark energy, according to Popular Mechanics.

China's Space Prowess Could Challenge Decades of US Dominance

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) recently released its 2015 annual report to Congress, and it includes an intriguing look at the China's space and counterspace programs.

The 2015 report, released in November and provided to Inside Outer Space by the USCC, provides information on and analysis of developments in the U.S.-China security dynamic, U.S.-China bilateral trade and economic relations, and China's evolving bilateral relationships with other nations.

n an introduction to Section 2, which includes the analysis on China's space program, the report notes that China "has become one of the top space powers in the world" after decades of high prioritization and steady investment. [China's Space Station Plans in Pictures]

"China's aspirations are driven by its assessment that space power enables the country's military modernization and would allow it to challenge U.S. information superiority during a conflict," the report states.

Among other purposes, the report contends, China's space and counterspace programs are designed to support its conduct as part of its antiaccess/area denial strategy to prevent or impede U.S. intervention in a potential conflict.

The U.S. Department of Defense defines "antiaccess" actions as those that are intended to slow deployment of an adversary's forces into a theater or cause them to operate at distances farther from the conflict than they would prefer.

"Area denial" actions affect maneuvers within a theater, and are intended to impede an adversary's operations within areas where friendly forces cannot or will not prevent access.

The report is rich in factoids and citations about China's aspirations in space – both for civil and military purposes, including that country's expanding deep-space exploration agenda.

As listed in the report's section focused on space, some of the conclusions are:

Although China's space capabilities still generally lag behind those of the United States and Russia, its space program is expanding and accelerating rapidly as many other nations' programs proceed with dwindling resources and limited goals.

China's aspirations in space are driven by its judgment that space power enables the country's military modernization, drives its economic and technological advancements, allows it to challenge U.S. information superiority during a conflict, and provides the Chinese Communist Party with significant domestic legitimacy and international prestige.

China likely has capitalized on international cooperation to acquire the bulk of the technology and expertise needed for most of its space programs. China probably will continue to pursue close cooperation with international partners to overcome specific technical challenges and to meet its research and development objectives and launch timelines.

As China's developmental counterspace capabilities become operational, China will be able to hold at risk U.S. national security satellites in every orbital regime.

China is testing increasingly complex co-orbital proximity capabilities. Although it may not develop or operationally deploy all of these coorbital technologies for counterspace missions, China is setting a strong foundation for future co-orbital antisatellite systems that could include jammers, robotic arms, kinetic kill vehicles, and lasers.

Civilian projects, such as China's human spaceflight missions, directly support the development of People's Liberation Army (PLA) space, counterspace, and conventional capabilities. Moreover, Chinese civilian and commercial satellites likely contribute to the PLA's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) efforts whenever it is technically and logistically feasible for them to be so utilized, and they would probably be directly subordinate to the PLA during a crisis or conflict. Given the PLA's central role in all of China's space activities, U.S. cooperation with China on space issues could mean supporting the PLA's space and counterspace capabilities.

China's rise as a major space power challenges decades of U.S. dominance in space—an arena in which the United States has substantial military, civilian, and commercial interests.

full report is available at: http://origin.www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/annual_reports/2015 Annual Report to Congress.PDF - See more at: http://www.space.com/31160-china-space-prowess-rivals-us-dominance.html#sthash.abTD7PNM.dpuf

Why on Earth Is China Shooting Crude Oil Into Space?

On April 6th, China’s SJ-10 satellite launched into orbit from the remote Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi desert. The event would be unremarkable if not for the satellite’s rather unusual payload: six titanium cylinders of crude oil, compressed to 500 times standard atmospheric pressure.

Launching stuff into orbit is expensive, and we don’t exactly need oil in outer space. (Most rockets today run on liquid hydrogen and oxygen.) But China’s not interested in building a fleet of gas-guzzling spacecraft. It’s interested in finding more oil on Earth to support its gas-guzzling cars.

And strangely enough, running experiments in zero-g might be the best way to do that. The Soret Coefficient in Crude Oil Experiment, which consists of six tiny samples of highly compressed black gold, will study how the complex mess of molecules found in petroleum redistribute under intense pressures and uneven temperatures.

And that information is of great interest to Chinese and European oil companies, who hope it’ll lead us to more elusive fossil fuel reserves here on Earth.

“Deep underground, crushing pressure and rising temperature as one goes down is thought to lead to a diffusion effect—petroleum compounds moving due to temperature, basically defying gravity,” said Olivier Minster, a scientist with the European Space Agency, which is a partner on the project.

“Over geological timescales, heavier deposits end up rising, while lighter ones sink,” he continued. “The aim is to quantify this effect in weightlessness, to make it easier to create computer models of oil reservoirs that will help guide future decisions on their exploitation.”

I can’t help but feel there’s something terribly dystopian in space agencies being contracted by oil companies to help us discover more of the fossil fuels we’re supposed to be weaning ourselves off of this century. Then again, from a basic research perspective, this sounds like a fascinating experiment.

And hey, maybe we’ll learn that deep crustal oil reserves are a lot sparser or harder-to-get-at than we thought. Could wind up being the wakeup call we need to transition over to clean energy.