Is China militarising space? Experts say new junk collector could be used as anti-satellite weapon

[Dungeness]

Good new for China, grab junk or grab enemy's sat won't make any difference, national interest come first

That is not "politically Correct", my friend.

By the way, this Aolong ADRV (short for Active Debris Retrieval Vehicle?) can ONLY collect up to 20 pieces space debris at a time. Long way to go to clean up the space.

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

That is not "politically Correct", my friend.

By the way, this Aolong ADRV (short for Active Debris Retrieval Vehicle?) can ONLY collect up to 20 pieces space debris at a time. Long way to go to clean up the space.

Can this be interpreted that this Aolong also able to scratch or doing some "unholy touch" 20 different foreign sats as well

 

[TaiShang]

WTF! Global public good!!

China is one of the reason for huge space junk.

From Wikipedia:
China's government was condemned for the military implications and the amount of debris from the 2007 anti-satellite missile test,the largest single space debris incident in history (creating over 2,300 pieces golf-ball size or larger, over 35,000 1 cm (0.4 in) or larger, and one million pieces 1 mm (0.04 in) or larger). The target satellite orbited between 850 km (530 mi) and 882 km (548 mi), the portion of near-Earth space most densely populated with satellites. Since atmospheric drag is low at that altitude the debris is slow to return to Earth, and in June 2007 NASA's Terra environmental spacecraft maneuvered to avoid impact from the debris.

It is global public goods in the sense that China, as late starter in space development, was not required to do so while it continued to contribute to space junk problem. For the per-capita space junk production of China is still very low.

But, instead, China chose to clean up the junk it itself produced as well as produced by others; this is perhaps not a selfless act of public goods, but still, in terms of results, it is a public goods.

Like @Genesis says, of course, there will be selfish interests involved. In the end, to be selfless is to be motionless.

When you do move, you start to become selfish. In fact, even our mere existence as a species being is an act of selfishness.

 

[Dungeness]

Can this be interpreted that this Aolong also able to scratch or doing some "unholy touch" 20 different foreign sats as well

I was thinking more in line of paint spray cans.

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

It is global public goods in the sense that China, as late starter in space development, was not required to do so while it continued to contribute to space junk problem. For the per-capita space junk production of China is still very low.

But, instead, China chose to clean up the junk it itself produced as well as produced by others; this is perhaps not a selfless act of public goods, but still, in terms of results, it is a public goods.

Like @Genesis says, of course, there will be selfish interests involved. In the end, to be selfless is to be motionless.

When you do move, you start to become selfish. In fact, even our mere existence as a species being is an act of selfishness.

China should clean mess and junks that are menacing our sats trajectories to protect our space assets, we shouldn't give a damn to the rest. We're not payed to be the space cleaner

 

[TaiShang]

China should clean mess and junks that are menacing our sats trajectories to protect our space assets, we shouldn't give a damn to the rest. We're not payed to be the space cleaner

I think that's the ultimate purpose. I am not sure about actual cleaning, probably, China just likes to have the capability to clean "stuff" in space.

In the end, even if China cleans up the trash to protect its own space platforms, that's also global public goods. It is just like increasing carbon emission standards in one country. Even though the purpose is to benefit the country's environment, the result is, at least, creation of regional public goods.

 

[xunzi]

They love to spin everything good we do. It is common practice which get bore sometime. LOL

 

[TaiShang]

They love to spin everything good we do. It is common practice which get bore sometime. LOL

Exactly. They tend to seek some mischief under every act of scientific progress and public goods.

 

[Tiqiu]

This is how the space junks are caught and cleaned

 

[Beidou2020]

Exactly. They tend to seek some mischief under every act of scientific progress and public goods.

They always say China created space debris when it shot down the satellite in 2007, but never talk about the US shooting down a satellite in 2008.

 

[Tiqiu]

 

[TaiShang]

They always say China created space debris when it shot down the satellite in 2007, but never talk about the US shooting down a satellite in 2008.

Exactly. Being one year behind China's test does not make their action any more innocent.

Besides, China is a late starter. It has all the rights to release space junk in an effort to promote space development and ensure scientific progress.

 

[cirr]

Lift-off for military tech: Chinese rocket launch ‘puts space weaponry to the test’

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 29 June, 2016, 12:10pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 29 June, 2016, 6:48pm

Minnie Chan
minnie.chan@scmp.com

It was just one launch, but the successful maiden flight of a new-generation carrier rocket on Saturday pointed to a multitude of breakthroughs in Chinese space weaponry, according to military experts.

The Long March-7 lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in the mainland’s southernmost Hainan province, carrying 13.5 tonnes of cargo – 90 per cent of which was taken up by the rocket’s special non-toxic fuel designed for multiple launch vehicles, plus wind-resistance devices, a re-entry capsule, a number of small satellites and other equipment.

For Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong, there were telling details in the Xinhua photos taken of the bullet-shaped re-entry module soon after it landed in the Badain Jaran Desert, in Inner Mongolia.

“The so-called re-entry capsule looks similar to China’s hypersonic glide vehicle DF-ZF,” Wong said.

“The colour of the capsule also indicated the use of a new, heat-resistant coating for a hypersonic vehicle.”

China started testing hypersonic gliders – which can travel at speeds of up to 11,300km/h and possibly carry nuclear warheads – in 2014, according to Pentagon officials cited by the Washington Free Beacon. Some sources suggest the vehicles could be ready for deployment by 2020.

Professor He Qisong, a defence policy specialist at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, agreed that the re-entry module’s protective coating could be used for both spacecraft and hypersonic gliders.

He said that as the module plummeted back to earth, temperatures could reach 2,800 degrees Celsius.

“Unlike the technology for single-use items like satellites and rockets, which don’t need to return to earth after launch, the re-entry module’s protective coating needs to be more sophisticated and heat-resistant,” he said.

At 2.3 metres tall and 2.6 metres in diameter, the 2.6 tonne re-entry capsule is a “space shuttle bus”, according to scientists cited by the official China Science Daily.

The researchers said that apart from gains in coating technology, the capsule’s test run confirmed advances in reusable spacecraft, in-flight systems to gather thermal and aerodynamic data, and communications during re-entry.

The speed with which scientists from the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institutes with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) located the module on the ground also pointed to greater navigation accuracy, He said.

The landing site was pinpointed soon after the capsule touched down because of an additional automatic navigation device on the vehicle.

The new technology proved that China’s accuracy in this area met international levels, He said.

Wong said that overall, the launch suggested China’s ballistic missile technology was entering a new stage that aided the development of the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile and the “carrier-killer” DF-21D, which could threaten US military installations on Guam.

The accuracy of navigation and protective coating of re-entry capsule suggested that the launch also aimed at testing China’s anti-missile interception technology, which would help it to break Nato’s anti-missile system and also help its DF-26 to hit its target, Wong said.

Yang Baohua, the deputy manager of CASTC, said last weekend’s test had bolstered China’s push to have a heavy-lift launch vehicle within 15 years – and showed its plans were going smoothly.

At the moment, China’s rockets can lift a payload and vehicle of about 100 tonnes into space – enough for manned moon missions and to launch deep-space probes. But this heavy-launch capacity would expand that capacity to 3,000 tones.

“We plan to make breakthroughs in key technologies within five years to pave the way for the development of heavy-lift launch vehicles,” Xinhua quoted Yang as saying.

He said that Yang’s remarks indicated that China would be able to catch up with the US and launch giant advanced military spy satellites into orbit about 20,000 km above the earth.

“Those kinds of sophisticated satellites are on a par with the US satellites that support its Global Positioning System,” He said.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/dipl...ilitary-tech-chinese-rocket-launch-puts-space

 

[Dungeness]

Lift-off for military tech: Chinese rocket launch ‘puts space weaponry to the test’

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 29 June, 2016, 12:10pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 29 June, 2016, 6:48pm

Minnie Chan
minnie.chan@scmp.com

It was just one launch, but the successful maiden flight of a new-generation carrier rocket on Saturday pointed to a multitude of breakthroughs in Chinese space weaponry, according to military experts.

The Long March-7 lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in the mainland’s southernmost Hainan province, carrying 13.5 tonnes of cargo – 90 per cent of which was taken up by the rocket’s special non-toxic fuel designed for multiple launch vehicles, plus wind-resistance devices, a re-entry capsule, a number of small satellites and other equipment.

For Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong, there were telling details in the Xinhua photos taken of the bullet-shaped re-entry module soon after it landed in the Badain Jaran Desert, in Inner Mongolia.

“The so-called re-entry capsule looks similar to China’s hypersonic glide vehicle DF-ZF,” Wong said.

“The colour of the capsule also indicated the use of a new, heat-resistant coating for a hypersonic vehicle.”

China started testing hypersonic gliders – which can travel at speeds of up to 11,300km/h and possibly carry nuclear warheads – in 2014, according to Pentagon officials cited by the Washington Free Beacon. Some sources suggest the vehicles could be ready for deployment by 2020.

Professor He Qisong, a defence policy specialist at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, agreed that the re-entry module’s protective coating could be used for both spacecraft and hypersonic gliders.

He said that as the module plummeted back to earth, temperatures could reach 2,800 degrees Celsius.

“Unlike the technology for single-use items like satellites and rockets, which don’t need to return to earth after launch, the re-entry module’s protective coating needs to be more sophisticated and heat-resistant,” he said.

At 2.3 metres tall and 2.6 metres in diameter, the 2.6 tonne re-entry capsule is a “space shuttle bus”, according to scientists cited by the official China Science Daily.

The researchers said that apart from gains in coating technology, the capsule’s test run confirmed advances in reusable spacecraft, in-flight systems to gather thermal and aerodynamic data, and communications during re-entry.

The speed with which scientists from the Carrier Rocket Technology Research Institutes with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) located the module on the ground also pointed to greater navigation accuracy, He said.

The landing site was pinpointed soon after the capsule touched down because of an additional automatic navigation device on the vehicle.

The new technology proved that China’s accuracy in this area met international levels, He said.

Wong said that overall, the launch suggested China’s ballistic missile technology was entering a new stage that aided the development of the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile and the “carrier-killer” DF-21D, which could threaten US military installations on Guam.

The accuracy of navigation and protective coating of re-entry capsule suggested that the launch also aimed at testing China’s anti-missile interception technology, which would help it to break Nato’s anti-missile system and also help its DF-26 to hit its target, Wong said.

Yang Baohua, the deputy manager of CASTC, said last weekend’s test had bolstered China’s push to have a heavy-lift launch vehicle within 15 years – and showed its plans were going smoothly.

At the moment, China’s rockets can lift a payload and vehicle of about 100 tonnes into space – enough for manned moon missions and to launch deep-space probes. But this heavy-launch capacity would expand that capacity to 3,000 tones.

“We plan to make breakthroughs in key technologies within five years to pave the way for the development of heavy-lift launch vehicles,” Xinhua quoted Yang as saying.

He said that Yang’s remarks indicated that China would be able to catch up with the US and launch giant advanced military spy satellites into orbit about 20,000 km above the earth.

“Those kinds of sophisticated satellites are on a par with the US satellites that support its Global Positioning System,” He said.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/dipl...ilitary-tech-chinese-rocket-launch-puts-space

“The so-called re-entry capsule looks similar to China’s hypersonic glide vehicle DF-ZF,”

What?

 

[Akasa]

“The so-called re-entry capsule looks similar to China’s hypersonic glide vehicle DF-ZF,”

What?

In the same way that the Wright Flyer looks like a Boeing 747 and that a Mercedes ML320 looks like a Hummer.

Don't you get it; if the Chinese built it, there's no way it was "original"!