Can China Really Build a "Space Aircraft Carrier"? Technical Feasibility in Question [Current Affairs Show]

No technology to fly a 120,000-ton carrier
"Showing off its space ambitions, intended as regime propaganda"

■ Program: The Asia Business Daily "So Jongsup's Current Affairs Show"

■ Host: Political specialist So Jongsup

■ Director: Producer Lee Kyeongdo

■ Guest: Reporter Lee Hyunwoo

A recent "space aircraft carrier" video released by the Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV is stirring controversy in the international community. The footage shows a gigantic aircraft carrier floating in outer space beyond the Earth's atmosphere, from which dozens of ballistic missiles are launched. China presented this as one aspect of its future weapons development and used it as propaganda to showcase its military strength, but criticism is mounting both inside China and abroad over its realism and technological feasibility.

A 120,000-ton aircraft carrier flying through space: "Impossible with modern technology"

YouTube video capture

The video was introduced as part of a future weapons development program that China claims to be pursuing, called the "Nantianmen Project." The core weapon in the video is a 120,000-ton class super-large space aircraft carrier called "Ruan Niao." Its scale exceeds the displacement of the latest U.S. supercarriers, and the name is said to come from a bird in Chinese mythology.

Experts, however, point out that with the technology currently available to humankind, it is virtually impossible to place such a massive flying object in outer space. Even SpaceX's "Starship" for Mars exploration, considered the heaviest space launch vehicle in human history, is known to be at a maximum of about 5,000 tons, making a 120,000-ton carrier overwhelmingly larger by comparison. The video even depicts the carrier as being able to carry 88 unmanned space fighter jets and launch ballistic missiles simultaneously, a level of military technology that not even the United States has achieved, according to assessments.

Moreover, China has not yet deployed a 100,000-ton class aircraft carrier even at sea. Its third aircraft carrier, the recently launched "Fujian," is known to have a displacement of around 85,000 tons, leading most analysts to conclude that China is still far from having the technological capability to complete a U.S.-level supercarrier. In this context, propaganda centered on a space aircraft carrier is increasingly being criticized as excessive bluffing.

The controversy also stems from how the video was produced. Although CCTV introduced it as if it were part of a national project, the video was in fact an animation created by a company preparing to open a science fiction theme park, not by the Ministry of National Defense or military authorities. A state-run media outlet took content that was closer to a promotional video meant to showcase future technologies in a Disney-like setting and packaged it as a military project, fueling a credibility dispute.

"Showcasing China's underlying strength in the space race, sending a warning signal to the West"

Xinhua News Agency and Yonhap News Agency

Even so, think tanks and media outlets in Western countries are focusing on the possibility that China intentionally exploited such an exaggerated video. Their interpretation is that, regardless of how far-fetched the content is, China sought to send a message to the United States and the West that it is by no means a pushover in terms of military and space capabilities. In particular, as Beijing continues to clash with Washington over the Taiwan issue, some analysts say China is flaunting its vision of future military power as a warning signal.

There are also assessments that the pace of China's space technology development has changed dramatically compared with the past. Last year, China successfully conducted a total of 92 rocket launches, ranking second in the world after SpaceX, which recorded 165 launches. China's annual number of successful launches is increasing by more than 30%, and some forecasts suggest it could surpass 100 launches this year. China has built its own space station and is expanding it, and it has announced plans to establish a manned base on the far side of the Moon with Russia by 2030. On top of this, Beijing has unveiled a plan to launch hundreds of thousands of satellites to build a Chinese version of "Starlink."

Perceptions within the United States have also been shifting recently. In the past, many expected that continued U.S. sanctions would force China to abandon its ambitions in the space race due to technological shortcomings. The prevailing view was that China would remain at the stage of simply copying U.S. or Russian technologies. Recently, however, senior officials in the U.S. Space Force have warned that China has moved beyond mere imitation, is accumulating its own technologies, and is rapidly closing the gap with the United States.

The differing approaches to space development in the United States and China are another factor heightening tensions. Since the Obama administration, the United States has moved away from NASA-centered, government-led projects and shifted to a public-private cooperation model led by private companies such as SpaceX. China, by contrast, is pursuing a model in which the state controls the entire process, from launch vehicle manufacturing and launches to propellant production, centered on the China National Space Administration. Observers say that through this government-led integrated system, China is reducing inefficiencies in the manufacturing phase, accelerating its pace, and rapidly catching up on projects that the United States has struggled to resolve for years.

The growth of China's space technology inevitably places a burden on U.S. allies in Asia, such as South Korea and Japan. Space technology is difficult to separate from the defense sector. A higher rocket launch success rate can also be interpreted as an improvement in the capability to operate intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Because satellite launch vehicles and ICBMs rely on similar atmospheric re-entry technologies, the military ramifications are significant.

In particular, China's statement that it could launch 200,000 small satellites within the next seven years and surpass Starlink is expected to have a major impact on the security environment in Northeast Asia. As China's satellite surveillance network strengthens, it will become more difficult for the United States to contain Beijing, and South Korea and Japan will inevitably come under greater pressure. In response, the United States is asking its allies to join the Artemis lunar exploration program and is strengthening space cooperation. South Korea also joined in 2021 and is working to expand launches of reconnaissance satellites and civilian satellites.

Despite widespread assessments that China's space aircraft carrier video is technologically unlikely to be realized, it is being interpreted as a case in which Beijing flaunted its future military power and ambitions in the space race while sending a strategic message to the international community. As competition in space technology intensifies, there are growing concerns that the security burden on neighboring countries, including South Korea, will only increase.