"The Universe is Vast, China and Russia Threats Intensify"…Space Power USA Faces Deepening Concerns [Reading Science]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The United States, the world's leading space power, relies on space more than any other country in terms of economy and security, including satellite navigation systems (GPS), communications, Earth observation, and missile early warning. However, it has recently become evident that the U.S. is highly concerned about the possibility of hostile countries such as China and Russia attacking its satellites.

According to the space-specialized media SpaceNews on the 19th, the U.S. military space company KBR signed a research service contract in January with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to analyze the impact of natural or artificial objects threatening the safety of its satellites and spacecraft in outer space. The practical goal is to develop technology to determine whether threatening objects such as so-called 'space debris' are intentional attacks by hostile countries like China and Russia. Headquartered in Hawaii, KBR is a major military space contractor that signs contracts worth about $6 billion annually with the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA. In 2020, it significantly enhanced its capabilities by acquiring Centauri, a satellite tracking and space surveillance company.

The reason the U.S. has reached out even to private companies is that it witnessed the remarkable success of China's Shijian-21 satellite experiment in January. China successfully conducted an experiment using the Shijian-21 satellite to tow a malfunctioning Beidou-2 GPS satellite drifting in geostationary orbit and dispose of it into an orbit at an altitude of 300 km, known as a 'satellite graveyard.' Capturing and approaching satellites or space debris orbiting Earth at tremendous speeds, then docking with a robotic arm to tow and dispose of them into a designated orbit, is no easy task. This technology can be used not only for space debris but also for attacking satellites and spacecraft of hostile countries.

China openly conducted this remarkable experiment and achieved great success, which the U.S. recognized through monitoring results from the private space surveillance company ExoAnalytic Solutions. This led the U.S. Department of Defense to realize the need to strengthen space surveillance using private companies, which is the background for this contract. Under this contract, KBR will jointly track space objects and activities with the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) under the U.S. Space Command.

A KBR representative said, "We are focusing on detecting and warning of military threats in outer space together with the NSDC," adding, "The U.S. Space Command requires technology to distinguish whether the approach of space debris in orbit is part of an intentional attack or a natural phenomenon. We are developing this using data analysis and algorithms, but it is not easy."

Conceptual Diagram of Seujen No. 21

The U.S. Space Command has recently prioritized space domain awareness to respond to space threats from China, Russia, and others. On March 8, at a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Space Command Commander James Dickinson emphasized, "We need to enhance our capability to understand what happened, when, and whether any intent was involved in the congested space operational environment," adding, "China's recent activities in space are very concerning as they are pursued under technical objectives aimed at countering the U.S." He also pointed out, "China's military goal is to neutralize adversaries' surveillance, communication, navigation, and early warning satellites. Satellites equipped with robotic arm technology, such as Shijian-17 and Shijian-21, could potentially capture and neutralize other countries' satellites at any time in the future."

The U.S. Space Force has been building a Space Surveillance Network (SSN) since 2017, consisting of ground-based radio, optical, and radar telescopes. A recent example is the contract with Northrop Grumman to build a $341 million radar telescope by 2025. This is the first of three new deep space radar surveillance systems planned worldwide. Additionally, Northrop Grumman operates the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) using satellites. The fifth and sixth satellites were launched simultaneously in January. Until the U.S. Air Force Space Command confirmed their existence in 2014, this was a highly classified operation.

Despite these efforts, the U.S. faces difficulties responding to space threats from China and Russia. On March 3, Thomas James, commander of the U.S. Space Force Command, appeared on a webcast by the National Space Security Association and said, "China and Russia are steadily increasing their space capabilities to counter us," adding, "Since China conducted a missile test intercepting its own satellite in 2007, similar situations have been occurring daily, but we struggle to decide what to do and how to respond to protect our satellites."

In fact, since 2007, the Obama administration has already implemented countermeasures against satellite interception threats due to Russia's increased space activities. Particularly, concern heightened when Russia approached its satellite to French and Italian military communication satellites in geostationary orbit in 2015 and kept them fixed between the two satellites for five months. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) established the Joint Space Operations Center (JICSpOC), which has since been expanded and reorganized into the current National Space Defense Center (NSDC).

Commander James noted, "Considering that threats in the space domain are becoming increasingly sophisticated, space surveillance missions have become more important than ever," but he also pointed out, "Ground-based observation telescopes, radar sites, and surveillance satellites are scattered across the vast space domain, making it impossible to continuously monitor specific objects showing unusual behavior. Accurate information gathering in the space domain remains a challenging task."