ASAT program of China
China's ASAT program includes kinetic, directed-energy, and microsatellite weapons.
China's anti-satellite (ASAT) program, initiated in 1964, has developed direct-fire, directed-energy, and microsatellite systems. The program is pursued under multiple military and civilian agencies and includes a broad array of counterspace capabilities.
Quick Facts
- Program start year
- 1964
- First known asat test
- 2005
- First successful direct-fire test
- January 11, 2007
Facts from the source article.
History
Work on technologies applicable to anti-satellite weaponry began in 1964. At a meeting that year, Qian Xuesen recalled Chairman Mao asking if it was possible to shoot down a missile, to which Qian replied that it should be possible. In 1966, China formally started developing a missile interceptor system, Program 640, centered at a research base in Yunnan and overseen by the PLA Air Force. For much of the 1960s and 1970s, most funding and development for ASAT capabilities ran through Program 640, though progress was hampered by the Cultural Revolution, which led to the purging of many prominent scientists. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping directed resources toward ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and communications satellites, and Program 640 wound down. In 1986, China established Program 863, its National High-Technology Research and Development Plan, which included efforts to respond to the US Strategic Defense Initiative through counterspace weapons. Zhu Guangya, director of COSTIND, led the study of SDI. After the 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Chinese leadership believed the US had intentionally bombed the embassy and sought to develop counterspace abilities for deterrence and leverage. In December 2002, Jiang Zemin stated at a Central Military Commission meeting that the PLA would pursue counterspace weapons. China began testing counterspace weapons in 2006.
Systems
Three kinds of ASAT systems have been under development or active testing by China. A direct-fire system is a land- or vehicle-based kinetic kill missile designed to physically destroy a satellite. China demonstrated this capability on January 11, 2007, when a SC-19 missile struck an aging Fengyun series satellite. No known tests of a vehicle-based direct-fire system have occurred, but the new Jin-class submarine has been reported as capable of launching the SC-19 or a similar missile. A directed-energy weapon, a high-powered laser, has been under development since 1995 and was tested on orbiting US satellites in 2006. The US Department of Defense has reported that Chinese defense research has proposed reversible and nonreversible counterspace directed-energy weapons for dazzling sensors or destroying satellite components, and that by the mid- to late-2020s China may field higher-power systems. Microsatellites, defined as objects with mass between 10 kg and 500 kg, are easily weaponized due to their high relative velocity; any collision would destroy both satellites. They are cheaper, more maneuverable, and harder to track than larger satellites.
Associated government organizations and personnel
In 2015, China established the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force to operate its space and cyber capabilities. The General Armaments Department (GAD), established in 1998, develops, maintains, and distributes all PLA weapon systems, manages the nation's nuclear program, and oversees all space programs. The GAD has authority over all weapons development, including ASAT weapons, and is responsible for space activities such as Project 921 and the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Every ASAT program must be developed and tested by the GAD, which includes the development branch of SASTIND and oversees Program 863. General Chen Bingde was Director of the GAD in 2007 during the first successful test of the Chinese direct-fire ASAT system; he oversaw the development of the SC-19 and authorized its deployment on January 11, 2007. Shortly after, Chen was promoted to Chief of the General Staff. General Chang Wanquan succeeded Chen as Director of the GAD and has been in charge of ASAT development and tests since mid-2007. SASTIND, formerly COSTIND, is the scientific branch of the military and was absorbed into the GAD in 1998. Its responsibilities include policy recommendations, organizing the science and technology community, researching new technologies, managing safety and quality standards, and handling foreign interactions in defense science and industry.
Operations
In 2006, the US National Reconnaissance Office reported that a PLA laser illuminated one of its satellites, the first report of China experimenting with non-kinetic counterspace weapons. Two failed attempts to use a direct-fire ASAT weapon occurred: the first on July 7, 2005, when the missile did not get close to the satellite, and the second on February 6, 2006, when the missile got close enough for observers to question whether an intentional miss was intended. On January 11, 2007, China conducted a test in which a kinetic kill vehicle traveling at 8 km/s in the opposite direction destroyed the FY-1C polar orbit satellite at an altitude of 865 km. The missile was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center or nearby. Aviation Week & Space Technology first reported the test, and the US National Security Council confirmed it on January 18, 2007. The Chinese Foreign Ministry officially confirmed the test on January 23, 2007, stating that China had formally notified the US, Japan, and other countries in advance. In September 2008, during the Shenzhou-7 mission, astronauts released the BX-1 microsatellite. Within four hours of release, it flew within 27 miles of the International Space Station at a relative speed of 17,000 mph. The station typically moves if anything comes within 1,000 miles; a collision would have been fatal. The BX-1 did not strike the station but demonstrated China's ability to deploy a microsatellite with ASAT capabilities.
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