China and India developing anti-satellite weapons

The U.S. media suspects China and India of developing anti-satellite weapons. An article to this effect has been published the New Scientist magazine.

Until recently, only the Soviet Union, its legal successor Russia and the United States were capable of developing anti-satellite weapons. U.S. analysts now think that China and India are acquiring similar capabilities. To what extent are such fears justified?

It is hard to overestimate the role played by military satellite systems. Since the 1970s, an increasingly greater number of troop-control, telecommunications, target-acquisition, navigation and other processes depend on spacecraft which are therefore becoming more important.

At this point, it is impossible to imagine the armed forces of most industrial states, including Russia, without combat-ready satellite clusters comprising spacecraft of various types. The space echelon's role is directly proportional to the development level of any given nation and its armed forces.

However, satellite clusters are hardly invulnerable. Ever since the U.S.S.R. and the United States launched their first military satellites, efforts have been made to develop anti-satellite systems. Such efforts were intensified after the creation of initial missile defense systems comprising the highly important space echelon.

Orbital satellite interceptors, surface-to-space and air-to-space missiles were eventually developed.

Research aiming to develop orbital and ground-based anti-satellite laser guns making it possible to either destroy spacecraft or knock out their electronics and optical devices deserves special mention. However, few results have been achieved in this area.

China, which claims the right to be a global power, prioritizes the development of anti-satellite weapons.

A 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test was conducted at 10.26 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on January 11, 2007 or at 6.26 a.m. Beijing time on January 12.

A Chinese weather satellite - the FY-1C polar orbit satellite of the Fengyun series, flying at an altitude of 865 kilometers (537 mi) - was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling at a speed of 8 km/second in the opposite direction.

Although the exact name of the missile is not known, sources mentioned a KT-1/SC-19 system described as being based on a modified DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile or its commercial derivative, the KT-2, with a kinetic kill vehicle mounted. The 11-meter DF-21 missile weighs 15 metric tons.

The above referenced kinetic kill vehicle destroyed the satellite with a direct hit.

China thus became the second nation in history to conduct practical anti-satellite system tests.

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