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https://scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3085342/us-plans-satellite-network-track-hypersonic-weapons-china-and
China/ Military

US plans satellite network to track hypersonic weapons of China and Russia

  • Pentagon agency’s goal is to have 150 interconnected probes operating in low-Earth orbit by 2024
  • Chinese space defence expert says it is part of a plan to have thousands monitoring its rivals’ technology
The satellite network will help the US intercept weapons launched by China and Russia, a space defence expert says. Photo: AP

The United States plans to launch 150 satellites that can track hypersonic weapons in orbit in 2024, a move observers say is aimed at helping the Pentagon control assets in space and keep a close watch on Chinese activities.

According to a draft request for proposals released by the Space Development Agency (SDA) last week, it is seeking a contractor to design and build eight satellites with infrared sensors to track hypersonic weapons, US online military tech publication C4ISRNET reported.

Those satellites would be part of the agency’s initial group of 20 to be ready by 2022, the first step towards its goal of having hundreds of interconnected satellites operating in low-Earth orbit, the report said. It plans to add more advanced satellites in the following two years.

It comes after the US Missile Defence Agency (MDA) released a draft request for proposals in February, saying it was seeking to design and build an interceptor missile to defend against regional hypersonic weapons threats.

He Qisong, a space defence expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the satellite plan would help the US military to monitor weapons developed by its two key rivals: China and Russia.

“This 150-satellite network is part of America’s plan to launch more than 42,000 satellites into outer space to monitor everything – including hypersonic weapons, anti-satellite missiles and other cutting-edge technologies – owned by China and Russia,” He said.

“And with the help of the SDA’s satellite tracing network in space, the MDA will be more capable of intercepting and knocking down all kinds of airborne weapons launched by China and Russia.”

SpaceX, the California-based private US aerospace manufacturer and space transport firm, plans to launch more than 42,000 satellites into orbit to create a wireless internet service called Starlink. That plan, filed with telecommunications authorities in January, is roughly triple the number of satellites put into orbit by anyone so far.

He said the SDA could work with SpaceX. “It’s possible their satellite programme will be part of the SpaceX plan, which would also help the Missile Defence Agency with its plan to build a hypersonic defence regional glide phase weapon system interceptor,” He said.

He added that the SDA satellite network could be part of US President Donald Trump’s missile defence strategy unveiled last year, a sweeping plan reminiscent of the “Star Wars” programme in the 1980s. While that programme, officially known as the Strategic Defence Initiative, never developed, it cast a long shadow over Moscow’s political and economic calculations and arguably contributed to the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union.

US President Donald Trump was presented with the new Space Force flag last week. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump was presented with the new Space Force flag last week. Photo: Reuters

As part of Trump’s goal for America to regain and maintain its dominance in space, the US Space Force, a new branch of the country’s armed services, was established in December.

The SDA was established in March last year in response to criticism the US military was not keeping up with the innovation happening in the space industry. The agency was given authority to cut red tape and acquire commercially developed space technologies, and it is to become part of the Space Force by October 2022.

“The Pentagon is going to bring in more satellites developed by civilian companies to strengthen their control over space assets – the draft of an executive order was released on May 6,” He said.

He was referring to the Trump administration’s proposal for mining on the moon under a new US-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, according to Reuters. It reported that the Russian space agency, Roscosmos – a key partner with Nasa on the International Space Station – would not be an early partner in the accords because the Pentagon viewed Moscow as hostile for making “threatening” satellite manoeuvres towards US spy satellites in Earth orbit.