"China is investing in its 'counterspace' component, for an anti-satellite capability deemed able to obscure the US orbital network". This is what emerges from a brief summary of the annual report by the "US-China Economic and Security Review" Commission. The document should be made public within the next month.
"China has 'space weapons' and is developing others. The entire arsenal includes ASAT missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, terrestrial jammers and direct kinetic energy weapons."
According to the Pentagon, the first objective of the Chinese in a hypothetical conflict would be to obscure the spy and intelligence network put into orbit by the US. The United States plans to undergo various types of kinetic, electronic and computer attacks as well as conventional raids against ground support structures.
The Chinese are currently developing two new ASAT missiles capable of targeting satellites in lower and upper orbit as well as armed co-orbital systems.
"If successfully carried out, such attacks could significantly threaten the entire US orbital network, especially if multiple carriers were launched against military and intelligence satellites, thereby reducing the US's ability to use weapons of exponentially. precision".
According to the Commission "it would seem certain" that behind the numerous cyber attacks against US space devices, which took place last year, there are the Chinese.
"The use of nuclear warheads is not excluded. A nuclear explosion in the low earth orbit would create an electromagnetic pulse that could also disable shielded satellites ".
Exactly a year ago, China put into orbit 16 small space vectors with SATCOM and ISR capabilities and some experimental modules. Direct energy weapons and satellite jammers should also have been tested in operational contexts. Of particular interest to the US military was the destruction of a Chinese meteorological satellite in orbit, now out of service for some time, the 23 took place last July. In another mission, in May of the 2013, the Chinese launched a vector that reached the geostationary orbit of the communication satellites. China denies the development of anti-satellite technologies.
La Aerospace Defense Force (VKO) identified 100.000 objects in the Earth's orbit. 20.000 are monitored by the Russian Space Command. The Kremlin announced that it currently operates 140 satellites. The mission of the Space Intelligence Center, based in Moscow, is to identify operational satellites and update the catalog of space objects in the Earth's orbit.
Nothing is out of our reach
Il National Reconnaissance Office of the United States, in December of the 2013 launched a new spy satellite. The NROL-39 mission has been classified, like all operations and satellites launched by the NRO secret. Rocket takeoff United Launch Alliance it happened from the Air Force Base in Vandenberg, California. Along with its secret cargo, the rocket also carried 12 "nanosatellites", for a series of scientific missions. The NRO mission is to design, build, launch and maintain US intelligence satellites.
These are the only information available, the rest is classified.
