Tags: China, ASAT, BeiDou, Debris
Publication: IndianExpress.com
Publication Date: 01/06/2013

Launching of the 14th and 15th BeiDou navigation satellites Image credit: Beidou.gov.cn/

China is expected to be conducting its third anti-satellite test in the upcoming weeks. In the past, the country performed ASAT operations on Jan. 11 both in 2007 and 2010, which is why experts expect a similar test this year.

While the international community expects an ASAT test from China, it is uncertain what specific kind of test they would perform, or what the target could be. In 2007, the country destroyed one of its own defunct satellites at an altitude of 530 miles. The move created approximately 3,000 pieces of orbital debris. In 2010, the test targeted an object that was not in orbit using similar technology as on the first one.

Analysts are contemplating the possibility that a new ASAT operation might not be as destructive as previous ones. But, according to reports, U.S. officials are anticipating higher altitudes for this test, possibly targeting an object at an altitude of approximately 12,000 miles. This poses a large threat to the United States because it would mean China could reach medium-Eart orbit, where the U.S. Global Positioning System navigational satellites live.

However, experts doubt that China will destroy an object at MEO since the country is planning to use this orbit for its own navigation system, BeiDou; creating debris would threaten their own satellites.

In response to the U.S.’s reaction toward the possibility of China performing another ASAT test, China’s state-run Global Times published an editorial cataloguing the reaction as “over blown.” It also justified such test by saying that the United States has an overwhelming advantage and that this would be China’s outer space “trump card.”

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