Development of China's ASAT

Since the 1960's China developse Anti-Satellite Devices to crack down satellites in space.


2006
It was reported, that China points some U.S. observation satellites with high powered ground Laser.
reported on 26th September 2006, Bush Administratoin kept secret some attacks. The newspaper said it kept secret because of fear the publication would damage the diplomatic offensicve of the U.S. and China against North Korea and Iran.

: Nevertheless, citing unnamed “top officials,” the trade journal asserts that “China not only has the [anti-satellite] capability, but has exercised it. It is not clear when China first used lasers to attack American satellites. Sources would only say that there have been several tests over the past several years.“




2007


The missile started it's flight at the Xichang Space Center.
The first report of Aviation Week & Space Technology was confirmed on January, 18th by a spokesmen of the National Security Council.


The Missile:
The missile that China used in the test 2007 was labled SC-19 by the U.S. military
Some sources claim, the anti-satellite missile was a modified version of the DF-21 medium range ballistic missile according to the SW Foundation's 2007 Anti Satellite Test Fact Sheet.

U.S. officials say the Chinese hit the satellite with the help of a medium-range ballistic missile — most likely the DF-21 (MRBM), also know as the CSS-5.



Other reports claimed, that the missile could be a modified KT-1, a commercial derivative of the DF-21. But this theory probably isn't true, because the KT-1 was never succesfully tested and maybe it's already abonded.



Kinetic Kill Vehicle
Air and Space Power estimates that the KKV weighed 600kg.




International reactions (according to BBC):

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he had asked China for an explanation and said nations "must use space peacefully"

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Beijing should have given Tokyo advance notice.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia did not want to see "some sort of spread, if you like, of an arms race into outer space".

British lobby group the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) also condemned China's reported move and said it believed it went against the UN's Prevention of an Arms Race in Space (PAROS) treaty.

"From the view of the peaceful use of space and international security, we naturally have concerns about it," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the government spokesman, told a news conference.

The White House statement, issued by the National Security Council, said China’s “development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area.”






2008





BX-1 Before Launch: This picture shows the BX-1 microsatellite mounted on top of the orbital module of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, before assembly for launch. Source: Chinese Internet

4 hours after the launch the BX-1, the Shenzhou-7 flew to a distance of about 45km (27 miles) from the International Space Station (ISS). According to calculations by the U.S. Strategic Command, the Shenzhou-7 reached a point about 45km below and forward-right of the ISS. the Micro Satellite came dangerously close to the ISS. A collision between the BX-1 and the Station would have destroyed both objects.




Timeline of Events (Source: )

Shenzhou-7 was launched on September 25 at 21:10 Beijing Time (13:10 Universal Time/Greenwich Mean Time UTC/GMT), for a mission that would last 68.27 hours. September 27th was a day of national triumph for China as the Chinese leadership and through a wide television audience, Chinese observed in real time the first space walk by a Chinese astronaut. As can best be determined from available data, a timeline for major activities that day of the Shenzhou-7 is as follows:

08:43 UTC/GMT: Spacewalk by Zhai Zhigang starts and last for about 15 to 19.35 minutes.

11:24 UTC/GMT: At a point about 500km from the ISS the Shenzhou-7 launches the BX-1 microsatellite.

15:07 UTC/GMT: At 4.13 hours later, likely in the skies between Australia and New Zealand, Shenzhou reached its closest 45km proximity with the ISS.

Timing for the Shenzhou space walk and the launch of the BX-1 microsatellite has been reported by the official Chinese media.[2] These are usually in Beijing Time and require the subtraction of 8 hours to get UTC/GMT. The source of the initial indication of the Shenzhou pass by the ISS appears to have been generated by a non-government observer, who placed proximity data based on a Collision Avoidance (COLA) program for satellites, on popular Western and Russian space issue web forums. This individual estimated that the Shenzhou-7 would approach to 36.6km from the ISS at 15:07 UTC/GMT.[3] This data was then apparently copied on to a popular Chinese web page where it was first viewed by this analyst.[4] In addition, an amateur space satellite observer noted the opportunity to observe the Shenzhou-7 and ISS in close proximity on September 27 over New Zealand.[5]




The BX-1 did not hit the ISS, but demonstrated China's capability to use a micro-satellite with ASAT capabilities.



2010


SC-19 US Military Name - modified DF-21 / KT-1

China in an early 2010 exercise attempted to intercept a mock enemy missile with the same weapon it had used to shoot down one of its orbiting satellites in a test three years earlier, suggesting the nation’s antisatellite technology was also designed to defend against strategic missiles, the Washington Times reported yesterday.
An SC-19 was used previously as the payload booster for the January 11, 2007, direct-ascent antisatellite (DA-ASAT) intercept of the Chinese FY-1C weather satellite,” it states. “Previous SC-19 DA-ASAT flight-tests were conducted in 2005 and 2006. This test is assessed to have furthered both Chinese ASAT and ballistic missile defense (BMD) technologies. -


The Target
The target was a B-611 (NATO Reporting name: CSS-X-11) medium range ballistic missile.
It was succesfully destroyed by a SC-19.







Sticky: The article will be edit, i only want to see if you like this, when yes, i will finish the article, when it's not at the right place tell me.

May I ask... the point to this thread is?

Yes... all of us know that China had an active ASAT program since Mao's era. And we witness or know that China had the capability to shoot down satellites with missiles. Plus we also know that China had a very advance laser or energy weapon programs...

The question is... so? US had it too, Russia had it, Israel has it, even India has it... and I didn't see you complaining too much.

rhino123 said:

May I ask... the point to this thread is?

Yes... all of us know that China had an active ASAT program since Mao's era. And we witness or know that China had the capability to shoot down satellites with missiles. Plus we also know that China had a very advance laser or energy weapon programs...

The question is... so? US had it too, Russia had it, Israel has it, even India has it... and I didn't see you complaining too much.

Click to expand...

What's the point of any of the topics on this forum? They are interesting! So why not an ASAT thread? China has them, and is working hard to militarize space.

Blackstone said:

What's the point of any of the topics on this forum? They are interesting! So why not an ASAT thread? China has them, and is working hard to militarize space.

Click to expand...

And reference to China trying to militarize space? With a couple of missiles and some laser that was ground base to shoot or blind satellite?

rhino123 said:

And reference to China trying to militarize space? With a couple of missiles and some laser that was ground base to shoot or blind satellite?

Click to expand...

What's so surprising about that? China is proving she intends to militarize every area of human endeavor, including massacring peaceful demonstrators in public square, cyber-warfare, white hulled maritime operations, to platforms in space. Making no moral judgements on China, but her militarization of space was always a question of when and not if.

I've been reading articles on China's recent ABM test. Now it seems that some believe every ABM test China has conducted were actually ASAT tests. The pundits think China's ABM will be overwhelmed by a US nuclear strike so why bother? Therefore they're all ASAT tests.

AssassinsMace said:

I've been reading articles on China's recent ABM test. Now it seems that some believe every ABM test China has conducted were actually ASAT tests. The pundits think China's ABM will be overwhelmed by a US nuclear strike so why bother? Therefore they're all ASAT tests.

Click to expand...

well there is a large amount of overlap between the missions. I mean a inbound ICBM is a object on a orbital velocity and trajectory. But Where a satellite is in a stable orbit a ICBM is ballistic. So in a way I think a ABM can be easily called a ASAT. I would even be so Bold as to say, That a ABM is always a possible ASAT but a ASAT is not always a ABM.
a lighter system like a fighter based ASAT is likely a poor ABM but a full ABM can give easily a ASAT mission.

The ABM system is aimed at india, since Indian - Pakistan nuclear situation can go hot, and if China somehow dragged into it. The ABM system will be insurance policy against indian IRBMs.

luhai said:

The ABM system is aimed at india, since Indian - Pakistan nuclear situation can go hot, and if China somehow dragged into it. The ABM system will be insurance policy against indian IRBMs.

Click to expand...

China's ABM system is aimed at anyone and everyone that land ballistic missiles in her territories.

China test another ASAT Free beacon



DN-3 test contrails

BY:
November 9, 2015 5:00 am

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 exoatmospheric 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.


DN-3 test contrails

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 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.


DN-3 test contrails

It could not be learned if protests were lodged over the Oct. 30 test.

China’s Guancha.com 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.