Chinese scientists build anti-satellite weapon that can cause explosion inside exhaust
- Researchers who built the device say it can lock itself into the thruster nozzles used by most satellites and stay there for long periods undetected
- Scientists say the resulting blast would damage the target’s equipment and may be mistaken for an engine malfunction
A team of Chinese military researchers say they have built and tested an anti-satellite robotic device that can place a small pack of explosives into a probe’s exhaust nozzle.
Rather than blowing the satellite into pieces, the melt-cast explosive can produce a “time-controlled, steady explosion”, Professor Sun Yunzhong and colleagues from the Hunan Defence Industry Polytechnic in Xiangtan wrote in a paper published in the domestic journal Electronic Technology & Software Engineering last month.
The device could stay inside the satellite for an extended period by using a locking mechanism driven by an electric motor. If needed, the process can be reversed to separate it from the target.
The project was funded by a government scheme to develop a new type of warhead for rocket missiles, according to the paper.
The device has been built and tested in a ground facility and the researchers said it “would have practical value in certain engineering applications”.