[Reading Science] "Chinese Satellite Weapons Are Threatening... Countering with Small Satellites"

Chance Saltzman, U.S. Space Force Operations Commander
Revealed at U.S. Senate Hearing

The United States anticipates that its satellites could be attacked and disabled in the event of a conflict with China, and is striving to develop countermeasures for this scenario.

Chance Saltzman, Commander of the U.S. Space Operations Command, testified before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on the 14th, stating, "China is continuously weaponizing space technology, posing the most immediate threat."

A multifunctional track-moving flying vehicle being developed by a Chinese private company.

According to Commander Saltzman, China possesses ground-based laser weapons capable of disabling or interfering with enemy satellite sensors, electromagnetic jamming systems that disrupt satellite navigation systems (GPS) and satellite communications, and anti-satellite missiles. It is especially estimated that China is developing anti-satellite weapon systems capable of destroying satellites even in geostationary orbit at altitudes exceeding 35,000 km.

Commander Saltzman explained, "China has already demonstrated the capability to move or physically manipulate other satellites," adding, "It appears they are experimenting with weaponized orbital satellite systems." This remark refers to China’s February last year experiment with the Shijian-21 satellite to remove "space debris." At that time, Shijian-21 successfully captured a malfunctioning Beidou GPS satellite drifting in low Earth orbit and sent it to a "satellite graveyard orbit," surprising the United States.

Commander Saltzman also responded to questions about what might happen in space if conflicts with China and Russia escalate. He said, "(China and Russia) have long observed how dependent the U.S. military is on satellites," explaining, "They know that if they can blind our eyes and disrupt satellite operations, they can reduce our advantages." He added, "Gray zone attacks on satellites are expected to put the U.S. in difficult situations by eliminating or impairing interference or surveillance capabilities."

Chance Saltzman, Commander of U.S. Space Operations Command

Commander Saltzman also described U.S. military defense efforts. The plan is to shift military capabilities such as surveillance and communications, which currently rely on geostationary satellites, to networks of small satellites in low and medium Earth orbits. He emphasized, "China has grappling satellites capable of displacing U.S. satellites from orbit," adding, "This means we need to reduce reliance on existing (geostationary) satellites. Utilizing small satellite networks makes it much harder for China to carry out removal operations." Until now, expensive large satellites have been launched into geostationary orbit to perform various military security missions. Going forward, the plan is to launch constellations of small satellites, like SpaceX’s Starlink, to carry out missions. Geostationary orbit allows satellites to perform missions 24 hours a day and is crowded with costly intelligence, surveillance, military communications, and missile early warning satellites created by major countries including the U.S. Relying on a few expensive large satellites for critical national security functions is vulnerable to attacks and difficult to repair or replace. Using small satellite constellations is cost-effective, enables 24-hour operation, is hard to attack or destroy, and easy to recover.

He also announced plans to strengthen civil-military cooperation with private satellite companies. However, he noted that challenges remain, similar to converting commercial ships into warships. He said, "There are tasks to be solved to bring government platforms that are useful and multifunctional and transform them to provide better capabilities in the civilian sector," adding, "We must complete this as soon as possible."