China tests ASAT

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Schumacher

Senior Member
I heard all US targets for the missle shield carries a homing device broadcasting its position, and US still missed hitting it in the last few rounds of testing. The orbit move was probably intended to get it out of the default space reserved for its replacement. Eitherway, it is not easy to hit another moving target with a missile traveling at 12000 miles per hour:)

Yes, there have been many reports abt the homing devices on the missile shield tests. Should have been easy to hit, but somehow they still missed on most. :)
US has the tendency to exaggerate its own abilities, maybe not so much to show off, but just that it worked so well in the past with Star Wars in deceiving the USSR into a costly arms race.
Whereas PLA seems mostly want to downplay its abilities, like this ASAT where they still have not admitted it.
Only time will tell which strategy is more effective.

I heard the US is unable to contact a new and expensive military satellite just launched last year.

Surely just coincidence but some hawks in US military must have spent a few moments contemplating tying it to PLA's ASAT test to create an incident. Most likely they got cold feet.
Would have looked like something out of a Clancy book. :)
 
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Duran

New Member
......
Assuming the [Chinese target satellite] was on the order of 3 meters in size, and assuming the kill was made in direct ascent mode as opposed to co-orbiting mode, this test demonstrates the capability to achieve a velocity error on the order of 3 meters / ~1000 seconds, i.e., way less than 1 cm per second. This has obvious implications for their CEPs [Circular Error Probables, the accuracy] of Chinese ballistic missiles. ......
Thank you for sharing the article. It is quite informative.

I think what might be of impotance is not the test result, but the applications of the knowledge and talents of the research team.

Since 2006, China has tested both laser and missile approach against high-speed objects in space. If Mr. Kennedy's above calculation holds, can we infer from here that,
1. China will soon has its ABM capability, and
2. the knowledge can also be used against CBG, AWACS, and stealthy planes.

By the way, can anybody answer if there is big difference between technology of 'Deep Impact' and that of ASAT.
 

Les Adieux

Just Hatched
Registered Member
Well, let me guess who you're talking about. :) At any rate, I don't think anybody here is dismissing the test in and of itself. There is no emotion here. Just pointing out that it is not technically difficult to do. It's not a manned lunar mission like what you are comparing it to. Nor was it a difficult intercept on a cross track, like what would be encountered in the real world. One does not need to directly overfly China to use satellite recon data on China. And these same entities are not going to line it up and raise it's altitude to make it an easy shot. This is actually something that may actually have a negative impact on China due to the users of LEO constellations being angered about China testing this capability in these orbital planes.

This test does not prove China can deny the use of satellite assets against it. It just proves that China knows how to launch a missile with some sort of impact vehicle to collide with an orbiting object in-plane. Yeah, that is useful for ASAT. But that knowledge would be more useful if applied to their own satellite assets in more precise orbits.

"More thorough analysis no longer suggests that the target satellite might have maneuvered before the attack in order to line up with the interceptor," he said in an e-mail. "All indications now are that the missile was launched toward the north and closed in from ahead and slightly to the side of the target's path."

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I bet you've read this update from James Oberg.

a few facts about the test: the satellite was launched in 1999 from Taiyuan space center, the killer vehicle was launched from Xichang space center. the easy way to line up two objects is to launch them from the same place. by design the satellite can only last two years, i.e. it has been out of service since 2001.
 

UFOArriving

New Member
That has been tossed around for a long time. But it's been put down as false. U.S. missile tests are not validated by any types of homing devices to guide warhead to target. That's pretty much internet garbage.

As far as this ASAT test, it's not technically difficult at all. It's rather easy actually. The USA and Russia both have done this for eons. And China got alot of this know-how from U.S. engineers at Loral. It's very rudimentary indeed and is done in the civilian sector all the time to put satellites into their proper planes and orbits. Actually hitting something though is not done by anyone due to screwing up LEO orbits with debris. But I guess China wanted to do it for some reason.

And it doesn't matter why they moved the orbit. The result was that it was turned into an in-plane track at a higher orbit with a lower velocity. Hence.....easy target. Nothing really fancy at all. Here's more:

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I doubt it. The fact that so many nations use LEO sats now, they may not want to do any more testing. Not very good for international relations, international respect, or business relations.

Thanks for the link, I read it and its quite educational. It seems that the satellite and the missle wereintercepting each other in a typical manuavel style used for space dock which gets me thinking:

Right after the news on 18th, I was browsing some Chinese forums, and there was this one line post stating all outside guessing was wrong, and the test was part of the future space station docking sequence testing. At that time, I immidiately treated it as some garbage post since how can you compare a missle's movement to a space ship. But if the movement of the satellite holds water, this post might have some truth to it.

As far as I can recall, the next ShengZhou space ship will be focusing on space walk, and the one after that would be practising space docking with the last ship, so now is probably the right time for China to do a try out on the serious of docking sequence using a expired satellite.

What do you guys think?

Thank you for sharing the article. It is quite informative.

I think what might be of impotance is not the test result, but the applications of the knowledge and talents of the research team.

Since 2006, China has tested both laser and missile approach against high-speed objects in space. If Mr. Kennedy's above calculation holds, can we infer from here that,
1. China will soon has its ABM capability, and
2. the knowledge can also be used against CBG, AWACS, and stealthy planes.

By the way, can anybody answer if there is big difference between technology of 'Deep Impact' and that of ASAT.


I seriously question about the point 1 you listed above. It is understandable that US wold want a ABM shield becasue it is expecting to handle no more than 20 ICBMs at the maximum. If China were to develop her own ABM shield, how many incoming should she be prepareing for? The cost would be devestating and China would never get itself into that kind of arms race. A better way for her to gain insurance would be to produce a few hundred more ICBMs now that the new generations are all mobile. I remember reading from somewhere that it used to cost China only 100mil Chinese Yuan each for the ICBMs capable of hitting the US - that's like 12million US dollars. With a foreign reserve of over 10 trillion USD, it would be pocket change to build up 200 more ICBMs...
 
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UFOArriving

New Member
Why not taking a seccond look to our forum rules (link is in my signature) and find out what it says about douple, tripple and quadro- posting...

Gollevainen
Supermoderator

Hi, Gollevainen:

I looked at the 5 stickies on the forums and apologize for the one liner bump I made above. However, I failed to locate any rules about double, tripple and quadro-posting - I must have missed it somewhere? I was replying as I reading from the beginning of the thread, I will refrain from posting too many replies at once from now on.

thanks.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Yes, there have been many reports abt the homing devices on the missile shield tests. Should have been easy to hit, but somehow they still missed on most.

As someone who actually assembled missiles while on oboard the JFK in '72 and is somewhat in the know about these matters I can tell you this.;

The USN does install a device in it's misslies when use in a training sceniaro called a telemetering pack. It sends a signal back to the source that fired it so an approxmiation can be made on how close the missle was to the target when it explodes. To my knowkledge no homing devices are installed in the missile targets.

I looked at the 5 stickies on the forums and apologize for the one liner bump I made above. However, I failed to locate any rules about double, tripple and quadro-posting

If no one has not responded to a post you have made and you want to make another post simply edit your last post to include your lastest thought. That's what the edit button is for.
 
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Gollevainen

Colonel
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My bad...:eek: It's actually being told in a annoucment that have ceased to exist. It's an old rule dating from the days of the old forum and its quite fundamental and so basic stuff that evidently it has been forgotten to write down in the permanent rules and regulations. So you cannot be held accountable...

....But nevertheless its still existing and it applyes to all. It's really for the sake of the threads outward appeal and clean looking that helps other people to read and reply to it. So for now onwards please try to make all your (means all of you new members) awnsers and comments in one reply and do not make another if there haven't been any awnsers after your own last post.

I will update it to rules as well so this sort of embarasment from our behalf can be avoided :)
 

UFOArriving

New Member
My bad...:eek: It's actually being told in a annoucment that have ceased to exist. It's an old rule dating from the days of the old forum and its quite fundamental and so basic stuff that evidently it has been forgotten to write down in the permanent rules and regulations. So you cannot be held accountable...

....But nevertheless its still existing and it applyes to all. It's really for the sake of the threads outward appeal and clean looking that helps other people to read and reply to it. So for now onwards please try to make all your (means all of you new members) awnsers and comments in one reply and do not make another if there haven't been any awnsers after your own last post.

I will update it to rules as well so this sort of embarasment from our behalf can be avoided :)

Cool, that makes a lot of sense. I have checked out several military forums yesterday and this one has come to me by far as the most clean and professional forum to have a meaningful discussion. That's why I decided to participate here and only here:) Thanks for the good work!
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Cool, that makes a lot of sense. I have checked out several military forums yesterday and this one has come to me by far as the most clean and professional forum to have a meaningful discussion. That's why I decided to participate here and only here:) Thanks for the good work!

:eek:ff I know I speak for golly and all forum members of this forum by thanking you for your comments.

We try to keep this forum the best the web has to offer on Chinese and other military matters..

Thanks again!:)
 
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