"China Aims for the Moon"... US Space Force Gives Bezos a Secret Briefing? [Reading Science]

Early This Month, Confidential Briefing on Intercountry Space Domain Competition Revealed
"Within 10 Years, Situation Where US Satellites Are Attacked Will Occur"
"China Developing Technology Aiming to Pioneer the Moon... Concerns Over Repetition of South China Sea Situation"

Briefing materials conducted by the United States Space Systems Command under the U.S. Space Force at the 'Space Industry Day' event last September. Photo by U.S. Space Force Command website.

Interstate competition in space is intense. China is especially a key concern.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The U.S. Space Force authorities conducted a confidential briefing for Jeff Bezos, the "world's richest person," regarding the fierce competition currently taking place in the space domain between nations. It is reported that the briefing focused particularly on the threat posed by China, leading to analyses that the U.S. is intensifying its containment of China not only in key technology sectors such as semiconductors but also in the space industry.

According to the space-specialized media SpaceNews on the 20th, officials from the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command met with Bezos earlier this month to explain the current situation unfolding in space. This meeting was reportedly arranged at the earnest request of Blue Origin executives who had attended the Space Systems Command's public briefing at the Space Industry Day event held last month in Los Angeles, USA.

It is unknown exactly what the Space Systems Command briefed Bezos on. However, it can be inferred from the speech given last month at the Space Industry Day event by Ron Ritchie, a senior officer of the Space Systems Command's intelligence division who directly briefed Bezos.

In Earth Orbit: "A Chase Between U.S. and Chinese Satellites"

Chief Warrant Officer Ritchie first explained the current development status of space weapons by Russia and China. He mentioned that Russia and China are developing not only ground-based weapons such as jamming and lasers but also orbital weapons like the SJ-21 satellite, predicting that attacks on U.S. satellites will soon become a reality. He particularly warned about China's SJ-21 satellite, which successfully conducted a space debris cleanup experiment earlier this year, stating, "Looking at the robotic arm used by China, one would truly become concerned."

Ritchie also introduced that as China increases its activities in the high Earth orbit, specifically the geostationary orbit (GEO, approximately 35,000 km altitude), a cat-and-mouse chase is occurring between U.S. and Chinese satellites. The recently launched Chinese satellites Xuan 12-1 and 12-2 serve as examples; whenever the U.S. satellites operating in GEO under the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) approach, these Chinese satellites perform evasive maneuvers and scatter. He stated, "Observing the behavior of Chinese satellites reveals tactics development, rendezvous proximity operations, and other actions aimed at neutralizing hostile nations' satellites," adding, "We must anticipate that within ten years, China will reach a level where it can endanger our satellites not only in low Earth orbit but also in high Earth orbit through such technologies."

China's Ultimate Goal is the Moon: "What Happens in the South China Sea Will Also Occur in Space"

Ritchie assessed that China would likely refrain from physical attacks such as directly attacking U.S. satellites or creating space debris, as such actions could also harm themselves. The problem arises if China installs jamming devices targeting satellites in space, particularly the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites used by the U.S. Department of Defense for military secret communications. He said, "AEHF satellites currently serve as the U.S.'s safety blanket, but we must accept that they will no longer be safe after the 2030s," adding, "If China can jam satellite signals from the ground, it will naturally explore whether it can use similar methods against U.S. satellites in space."

He also mentioned China's 'space rise' by citing China's tests of the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) last year, the establishment of the Tianlian satellite network capable of monitoring U.S. aircraft carriers, and improvements to its independent satellite navigation system, Beidou.

Finally, Ritchie warned that China is targeting the Moon. He said, "It is clear that China is developing technologies not only near Earth but also with a view to the future," adding, "The U.S. concern is that if China approaches the lunar domain from an economic perspective, what is happening in the South China Sea will also be seen in space."

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos is famous as a billionaire with grand dreams of space development, including Mars colonization, similar to his 'rival' Elon Musk. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, ahead of Musk's SpaceX (founded in 2002), and successfully conducted a space tourism demonstration flight last July.