In the coming decade the US will face the Chinese threat in space. This is the conclusion reached in the report prepared by US director of National Intelligence James Clapper. He presented the document to the US Senate Intelligence Committee on March 12. The report states that China would try to limit the US leadership or altogether block its access to space.
The intelligence service admits that the rivalry in space between the US’ and China will intensify. Published are the US space projects, which could be seriously threatened by the Chinese strategy of space exploration. They include positioning, navigation, time count, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The intelligence director’s report pointed out to the senators that China had already claimed its place in the “star wars”. In 2007 it tested its satellite destruction system, causing an unusual panic among the US’ space exploration services. The development of anti-satellite weapons will become one of the priorities of China's space programs already this year, according to Vladimir Yevseyev, the director of the Analytical Center for Social and Political Studies. They will perform the task with the help of launching microsatellites: "China is working on the ways to contain the US in space. One can expect that they will put into orbit dual-purpose satellites. They would be able to perform purely military tasks if such need arises. In particular, it would include surveillance of the location of missile complexes of a potential enemy and the detection of missiles already launched. This is quite possibly a step towards creating a full-scale missile attack warning system." Meanwhile, Pavel Lusin, an expert at the PIR-center, believes the US Intelligence service report and the escalation of tensions around the Chinese threat in space is driven exclusively by the fight over the budget. In the face of the upcoming budget cuts in the US it is planned to reduce the expenditure on defense and intelligence. James Clapper's report is primarily aimed at maximizing the potential financing for US intelligence and defense programs in space. "Is China really capable of competing with the US in the area of military space programs? I don't think so, because China's fundamental sciences and space technologies are not developed to the degree for it to openly challenge the US, says Pavel Lusin. For China, its military space program is aimed at modernizing its military and defense potential, i.e. updating it to meet the current needs. That includes telecommunications, intelligence and navigation. And that is the path that China is taking." This year, China plans to put into orbit 20 satellites. According to Vladimir Yevseyev's estimate, three quarters of them will be directly or indirectly used for military purposes. At the same time, China will choose to increase the term of service of its space group. Specifically, it will support the Beidou navigation satellite system. By 2020 the Beidou system will become global, i.e. it will become a real competitor to the Russian GLONASS and the US GPS. Source: Voice of Russia
