DIA Chief Warning About Space Technology in China
DIA DIrector: China Preparing for Space Warefare, Washington Free Beacon
“Army Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, disclosed new details of China’s space weapons programs last week, including information regarding China’s anti-satellite missiles and cyber warfare capabilities. … “China’s successfully tested a direct ascent anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) missile and is developing jammers and directed-energy weapons for ASAT missions,” he said. “A prerequisite for ASAT attacks, China’s ability to track and identify satellites is enhanced by technologies from China’s manned and lunar programs as well as technologies and methods developed to detect and track space debris.”
Testimony (go to page 19)
Most of the technology shown to the west by China has been modified Soviet technology that is barely functional. This could be intentional by the Chinese to deceive us into believing they aren’t a threat and to lull us into a false sense of security. If that’s their objective then its succeeding as evident in the news and the reaction or non reaction by our leaders.
“Barely functional”? They reached a level of sophistication in human spaceflight far faster than we or the Soviets did. The inside of Shenzhou is far more modern than anything Russia is flying.
Better than the Soyuz TMA-M?
The Chinese paid the Russians for tech transfer to get themselves more quickly to where they are at now.
On a relative scale of mastery today — rendezvous and docking with manned docking to come — puts them at or beyond the mid-70s.
You can argue the Chinese have a better safety record for manned capsule flight than Apollo and the early Soyuz missions, but they haven’t flown as many missions if you want to get into statistical games.
The Chinese are also “faster” because 1) Knowing all the mistakes the U.S. and the Soviets made back in the ”60s and ’70s, they can avoid them 2) They aren’t racing anyone other than their own 5 and 10 year plans 3) Plenty of Chinese engineers rotated through U.S. engineering schools over the past two decades.
If the Chinese start talking about launching a nuclear rocket for Mars travel, then we can engage in some justified FUD.
We are soo going to be by passed by them.
Sleep on!
The turtle and the hare