The capability demonstrated by Maxar and other commercial companies in the NEI domain stands out from recent actions by some military spacecraft, such as Russia’s Kosmos 2612, which deliberately maneuvered to approach a radar imaging satellite registered in the United States earlier this month. NEI commercial sightings come from chance encounters, often at extremely high speed.
Bench with DEW
The DIA’s space threat assessment includes an update on China’s pursuit of anti-satellite technologies, or “counter-space” weapons. The intelligence agency reported that the Chinese military likely views directed energy weapons (DEW) as “ideal anti-space systems” because they can be used to permanently or temporarily disable a satellite. One potential use for lasers in space would be to dazzle a sensor on an adversary’s satellite.
“China has several ground-based laser weapons with varying power levels to disrupt, degrade or damage satellites in LEO,” the DIA said. “By the end of the 2020s, China could establish space-based directed energy systems and more powerful ground-based directed energy systems capable of threatening satellites in higher orbits. »
The DIA noted China’s tests of ground-based anti-satellite missiles and the country’s historic demonstration last year of refueling satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a regime about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above the equator, something no other country has achieved above the LEO. China has also tested a robotic arm capable of pulling a spacecraft out of orbit and now operates a growing fleet of satellites called TJS that regularly approach foreign spacecraft.
The US Space Force also has a constellation of inspector satellites in geosynchronous orbit and recently purchased more that could be refueled, overcoming maneuverability limitations. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed last month that the Pentagon had deployed weapons in space, making the United States the first country to acknowledge possession of orbital weapons.
Russia is pursuing its own orbital combat program, which includes deploying a nuclear weapon in space, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
A more conventional Russian weapons system, known as Nivelir, is designed to fire projectiles from one satellite to impact another. The Russian military simulated an attack using the Nivelir system in 2020. In April, Russia launched a fleet of small satellites into an orbit close to a commercial radar remote sensing satellite owned by ICEYE that provides reconnaissance imagery to Ukraine. One of the Russian satellites moved within “a few dozen meters” of the ICEYE satellite earlier this month before moving back, U.S. officials said.
Gn world
