Space War Tactics? The US, Russia, and China Are Testing Orbital Vulnerabilities


10/29/2021 | Brad Bergan - Interesting Engineering | External Article

Space War Tactics? The US, Russia, and China Are Testing Orbital Vulnerabilities

Space may be big, but it's probably not big enough for rival nations.

China has proven its ability to both maneuver and track satellites with a high deftness and precision, and this enables the country's military to see when a U.S. satellite moves conspicuously close, and redirect its own satellite away from the U.S. one in roughly 24 hours, according to recent video recreations that depict this exact scenario from COMSPOC, a firm that generates space tracking and other pertinent information for private and public officials.

In other words, warfare tactics are going to outer space.

Space-faring nations are exploring warfare tactics in orbit

A July 2021 incident involved a space surveillance satellite developed covertly by the Air Force and Orbital Sciences called USA 271 began to close in on one of China's satellites, SJ-20. This satellite is one of the PRC's most advanced and heaviest satellites. USA 271, which is part of the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSAPP), shadowed China's SJ-20 by moving in a parallel orbital trajectory. But the Chinese authorities could see it coming, and subsequently directed their satellite to move away. In the video (below), the "ranges" section reveals how close the two satellites came during the incident. 

 

Read more at: 

https://interestingengineering.com/space-war-tactics-the-us-russia-and-china-are-testing-orbital-vulnerabilities