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90-410: Kaituozhe-1 ( KT-1 ) was a small, solid fueled launch vehicle based on the road mobile DF-21 IRBM with an additional upper stage (in total 4 stages). It was 13.6 meters in length and 1.4 meters in diameter, with launch mass of 20t. It was possible to launch KT-1 both from a truck-based platform or from airborne platform. It had a 100 kg to LEO payload capacity. It was possibly the launch vehicle for

180-418: A ballistic missile launched from Yemen by Houthi rebels; this successful interception occurred outside of Earth's atmosphere thus making it the first recorded practical instance of space warfare during an active conflict. On April 14, 2024, Iran launched more than 120 ballistic missiles at Israel , making it the first large-scale incident in which a space weapon was used. From 1985 to 2002, there

270-432: A space warfare -capable anti-satellite weapon /anti-missile weapon carrier. Though the launcher vehicle itself is mobile to reduce vulnerability, an actual launch unit requires support vehicles that can cover a 300×300-meter area, making it hard to move quickly and easier to detect. Also, the wheeled launcher is not made to travel off-road and requires firm ground when firing to prevent backblast and debris damage due to

360-522: A strategic weapon , the DF-21's later variants were designed for both nuclear and conventional missions. It is thought to be able to carry a high explosive, submunition for tactical / theater -level missions, or a 300  kt nuclear warhead for strategic strikes. The latest variant, the DF-21D, was said to be the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). The DF-21 has also been developed into

450-431: A "game changer" to completely count carriers out. First, the missile may not be able to single-handedly destroy its target, as the warhead is believed to only be enough to inflict a "mission kill" that makes a carrier unable to conduct flight operations. Secondly, there is the problem of finding its target. The DF-21D has a range estimated between 1,035 to 1,726 mi (899 to 1,500 nmi; 1,666 to 2,778 km), so

540-700: A 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) warhead. In 2009, the United States Naval Institute stated that there was "currently ... no defense against [a warhead able to destroy an aircraft carrier in one hit]" if it worked as theorized. It was reported in 2010 that China was finalizing development of a MaRV warhead for the DF-21. The United States Navy has responded by switching its focus from a close blockade force of shallow water vessels to return to building deep water ballistic missile defense (BMD) destroyers. The United States has also assigned most of its ballistic missile defense capable ships to

630-509: A Chinese ASAT system that was tested against an old Chinese weather satellite in 2007. The vehicle has performed two flights, the first on 15 September 2002 and the second 16 September 2003. The first flight failed to place a 50 kg satellite into polar orbit due to a second stage malfunction. The second flight was also a failure, however Chinese officials declared some success citing the guidance systems, fairing separation and satellite-launcher separation as successful. The second launch sent

720-675: A DF-21D-style "double-cone" tip, and a hypersonic guild vehicle (HGV) similar to the DF-ZF on the DF-17 missile. It was in development by 2018. In 2018, the United States projected it would be ready for deployment by 2025. The missile is carried by the Xian H-6 N bomber; the aircraft has a recessed underside to carry the missile externally. The DF-21 may have been exported to Saudi Arabia . In January 2014, Newsweek reported that

810-625: A DF-26B, a DF-21D was launched into an area of the South China Sea between Hainan and the Paracel Islands , one day after China said that an American U-2 spy plane entered a no-fly zone without its permission during a Chinese live-fire naval drill in Bohai Sea off its north coast and came as Washington blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military activities in

900-414: A U.S. national security satellite. Such “inspector” satellites can be armed with lasers to provide non-destructive interference or deadly kinetic interceptors. While these co-orbital systems provide more utility when compared to more direct and destructive options, their advantages are contingent on being maneuverable and inconspicuous. Given the increasing paranoia surrounding co-orbital anti-satellite, it

990-479: A carrier battle group would need to be located through other means before launching. Over-the-horizon radars cannot pinpoint a carrier's exact location, and would have to be used in conjunction with Chinese recon satellites. Though recon aircraft and submarines could also be used to look for the carrier, they are vulnerable to the carrier battle group's defenses. Finally, although the DF-21D has radar and optical sensors for tracking, it has not yet been tested against

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1080-409: A conventionally armed high hypersonic land-based anti-ship ballistic missile based on the DF-21. This is the first ASBM and weapon system capable of targeting a moving aircraft carrier strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers. The DF-21D is thought to employ maneuverable reentry vehicles (MaRVs) with a terminal guidance system. Such a missile may have been tested in 2005-6, and

1170-632: A joint military space doctrine. In July 2019, Emmanuel Macron "called for a space high command to protect" France's satellites. This was followed by a plan released by military officials. French Defense Minister, Florence Parly , announced a space weapons program that would move the country's space surveillance strategy towards active protection of its assets in space, e.g., satellites. The projects outlined include: patrolling nano-satellites swarms, ground-based laser systems to blind spying satellites, and machine guns mounted on satellites. Starlink , SpaceX 's large low Earth orbit satellite constellation,

1260-449: A larger but less hardened target (such as a city). Though a common device in science fiction, there is no publicly available evidence that any such systems have actually been deployed by any nation. Weapon systems that fall under this category include lasers , linear particle accelerators or particle-beam based weaponry , microwaves and plasma-based weaponry . Particle beams involve the acceleration of charged or neutral particles in

1350-793: A more naval framework. Still others suggest forces more like space marine : highly mobile forces doing interplanetary and interstellar war but most of the conflict happens in terrestrial environments. The main sub-genres of the Space warfare in science fiction thematic genre are space opera , Military and Space Western . Though sword and planet stories like Finisterre universe by C. J. Cherryh might be considered, they rarely feature such technologies. These three genres often intertwine and have themes that are common to all. Written Space Westerns are often based directly on existing established scifi space opera franchises with expanded universes like Star Wars and Star Trek, including Warhammer 40,000 :

1440-517: A possibly DF-31 based stage 1, topped by a small diameter stage 2 and 3. It has reportedly a payload of 800 kg to low earth orbit. The maiden flight of the Kaituozhe-2 took place at 23:45 UTC on March 2, 2017, from Jiuquan (apparently from one of the two solid rocket launch pads). The rocket placed the Tiankun-1 (TK-1) satellite into polar orbit. The KT-2 is a rapid-response launcher;

1530-539: A relatively short time to actually search for a ship. This could enable the target to leave the area if the missile is detected soon enough before it engages its terminal sensors, and the slower speed upon reentry leaves it vulnerable to missile interceptors. The missile was shown to the public during the parade in Beijing celebrating 70 years since the end of World War II on September 3, 2015. A parade video shows missiles marked as DF-21D. On 26 August 2020, along with

1620-638: A satellite knock out whose detonation alone caused more than 40,000 new chunks of debris with a diameter > 1 cm and a sudden increase in the total amount of debris in orbit. The PRC is reported to be developing "soft-kill" techniques such as jamming and vision kills that do not generate much debris. Most of the world's communications systems rely heavily on the presence of satellites in orbit around Earth. Protecting these assets might seriously motivate nations dependent upon them to consider deploying more space-based weaponry, especially in conflicts involving advanced countries with access to space. Since 2017,

1710-400: A ship target moving at-sea at up to 55 km/h (30 kn; 34 mph), let alone ones using clutter and countermeasures. The missile's "kill chain" requires processing and constantly updating a carrier's location details, preparing the launch, programming information and firing. The U.S. military's AirSea Battle concept involves disrupting such kill chains. Some U.S. analysts believe that

1800-413: A stream towards a target at extremely high velocities, the impact of which creates a reaction causing immense damage. Most of these weapons are theoretical or impractical to implement currently, aside from lasers which have been used to blind satellites and are starting to be used in terrestrial warfare. That said, directed-energy weapons are more practical and more effective in a vacuum (i.e. space) than in

1890-678: A target area centered around the static location of the missile itself. Co-orbital systems come with a few potential kill mechanisms: in guided kinetic vehicles, like the Multiple Kill Vehicle , or in the form of a satellite that can release a kinetic interceptor or a cloud of debris. The first co-orbital system, Istrebitel Sputnikov , was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and reportedly utilized one of these mechanisms. There are allegations that Russia continues to test co-orbital ASAT weapons as recently as 2020. In 2020

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1980-593: A weapon) are designed to jam, sabotage, and outright destroy enemy satellites, and conversely to protect friendly satellites against such attacks. To this end, the US (and presumably other countries) is researching groups of small, highly mobile satellites called "microsats" (about the size of a refrigerator) and "picosats" (approximately 1 cubic foot (≈27 litres) in volume) nimble enough to maneuver around and interact with other orbiting objects to repair, sabotage, hijack, or simply collide with them. Another theorized use involves

2070-445: Is Alastair Reynolds ' Revelation Space universe , which explores combat at relativistic speed . Robert A. Heinlein 's Starship Troopers is perhaps one of the best-known and earliest explorations of the " space marine " idea. Space-based vehicular combat is portrayed in many movies and video games, most notably Star Wars , Stargate , Halo , Descent , Gundam , Macross , Babylon 5 , and Star Trek . Games such as

2160-726: Is a two-stage , solid-fuel , single- warhead medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) developed by China 's Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology Academy. A part of the Dongfeng missile family , the DF-21's development started in the late 1960s, and it was completed around 1985–86, but not deployed until 1991. It was developed from the JL-1 submarine-launched missile , and is China's first solid-fuel land-based missile . The U.S. Department of Defense in 2008 estimated that China had 60-80 missiles and 60 launchers; approximately 10-11 missiles can be built annually. Originally developed as

2250-481: Is far harder. And, though not a problem for orbital kinetic weapons, any directed energy weapon would need huge amounts of electricity. So far the most practical batteries are lithium , and the most practical means of generating electricity in space is photovoltaic modules , which are currently only up to 30% efficient, and fuel cells, which have limited fuel. Current technology might not be practical for powering effective lasers, particle beams, and railguns in space. In

2340-430: Is hard to believe that the major players in space will fail to notice the deployment of “research” satellites. Space warfare is a staple of science fiction , where it is shown with a wide range of realism and plausibility. Fictional space warfare includes anticipated future technology and tactics, and fantasy- or history-based scenarios in a scifi setting. Some portray a space military as like an air force ; others depict

2430-684: Is made of the DF-21D's damage infliction ability based solely on velocity and kinetic energy, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has calculated that the energy of an inert 500 kg (1,100 lb) RV impacting at Mach 6 had similar energy to the combined kinetic and explosive power of the American subsonic Harpoon anti-ship missile, which is one-quarter the energy of the Russian supersonic 12,800 lb (5,800 kg) Kh-22 missile traveling at Mach 4 with

2520-453: Is much more important than additional hardening or armoring of satellites. The Air Force Space Command has indicated that their defensive focus will be on "Disaggregated Space Architectures". Anti-satellite attacks, especially ones with kinetic kill vehicles , can form space debris which can stay in orbit for many years and could interfere with future space activity or in a worst case trigger Kessler syndrome . In January 2007 China did

2610-511: Is often a core world, such as a planet relatively close to a galaxy's supermassive black hole. Characterization can vary wildly from malevolent forces attacking sympathetic victims to apathetic bureaucracies to more reasonable entities focused on social progress, and anywhere in between. Scifi writers generally posit some form of faster-than-light drive in order to facilitate interstellar war . Writers such as Larry Niven have developed plausible interplanetary conflict based on human colonization of

2700-475: Is reported to have a similar 1,770+ km range, with a potential extended range of 2,150 km (1,340 mi). Revealed in 2006, the DF-21C is a terminally guided version that has a maximum range believed to be about 1,700 km (1,100 mi) and accuracy estimated to be 50~100m. The missile was the first dual-capable version, able to be armed with either a nuclear or conventional warhead. In 2010,

2790-403: Is thus sub-genre and theme of science fiction , where it is portrayed with a range of realism and plausibility. In the real world, international treaties are in place that attempt to regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation of space weapon systems , especially nuclear weapons . On October 31, 2023, during a Yemeni missile strike on Israel , Israel 's Arrow 2 system intercepted

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2880-764: The Homeworld series have interesting concepts for space warfare, such as 3D battle formations, plasma-based projectors that get their energy from a ship's propulsion system, and automated uncrewed space combat vehicles. Other series, such as Gundam , prominently show vehicular combat in and among many near future concepts, such as O'Neill cylinders . Fictional galaxies with space warfare are far too many to list, but popular examples include Star Trek (in all of its forms), Star Wars , Halo , Stargate , Warhammer 40,000 , Babylon 5 , Buck Rogers , Flash Gordon , Battlestar Galactica , Mass Effect , Freespace and many comic book franchises. Video games often touch

2970-972: The ASM-135 ASAT program are the so-called direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons. These weapons are usually either ballistic or anti-ballistic interceptor missiles , which ascend directly from Earth to intercept their target and have been adapted to the anti-satellite role. To date, four countries have demonstrated their ability to launch these weapons, the USA, the PRC, India, and Russia, but so far none have conducted such an attack on another country’s satellites. Direct-ascent ASATs leverage existing technologies and launch platforms to neutralize both space-based and ground-based targets. This option tends to be highly destructive and indiscriminate as any attack will produce space debris , which can indiscriminately affect other satellites in similar orbits. While this option comes with

3060-527: The Explorer program , which launched the first American satellite into orbit in 1958. In tandem with the effort to achieve superior spaceflight capability over the other, the United States and the Soviet Union began to develop space warfare capabilities. Early efforts to conduct space warfare were directed at space-to-space warfare, as ground-to-space systems were considered to be too slow and too isolated by Earth's atmosphere and gravity to be effective at

3150-731: The Israel–Hamas War , Israel intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile with its Arrow 2 missile defense system. According to Israeli officials, the interception occurred above Earth's atmosphere above the Negev Desert , making it the first instance of space combat in history. On November 21, 2024, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Russia launched a new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile , striking Dnipro . Ukraine's air force initially claimed an intercontinental ballistic missile (range greater than 5,500 km)

3240-632: The Kaituozhe-1B ( KT-1B , originally designated KT-2A, not to be confused with KT-2A below). The rockets that flew were of the KT-1 variant. The KT-1A and KT-1B variant rockets were not built. Like its predecessor the Kaituozhe-2 ( KT-2 ) is a solid-fueled launch vehicle which could be based on the DF-31 missile . Two versions have been proposed: The Kaituozhe-2 ( KT-2 , AKA Kaituo-2 ) features

3330-472: The U.S. State Department claimed that a Russian satellite, Cosmos-2519, exhibited behavior “inconsistent” with its intended mission. While in orbit, Kosmos -2519 deployed a smaller satellite, which Russian state media claimed: “conducted autonomous flight, a change in orbit, and a satellite inspection before returning to the base station”. Another incident back in 2019 involved two Russian satellites, Kosmos 2542 and 2543, one of which appeared to begin following

3420-724: The United States Air Force has run an annual military exercise called "Space Flag" at Peterson Space Force Base , which involves a red team simulating attacks on U.S. satellites. Robert Zubrin , aerospace engineer and advocate for human exploration of Mars , stated that anti-satellite weapons capabilities of nations increases, space infrastructures must be able to defend itself using other satellites that can destroy such weapons. Or else, he states, satellite-based navigation , communications and reconnaissance capabilities would be severely limited and easily influenced by adversaries. The modern incarnations of

3510-476: The hard launch , restricting its firing locations to roads and pre-made launch pads. The basic variant DF-21 had a range of 1,770+ km, and a payload of 600 kg (1,300 lb) consisting of a single 500 kt nuclear warhead, with an estimated circular error probable (CEP) of 300~400 m; this version did not enter operational service. The DF-21A was operational by 1996 and has improved accuracy with an estimated CEP of 100~300 m. This version

3600-562: The DF-21C was being deployed in central Western China. This is an anti-ship ballistic missile that has a maximum range exceeding 1,450 kilometres (900 mi; 780 nmi), according to the U.S. National Air and Space Intelligence Center . The Intelligence Center did not believe it was deployed in 2009. As of 2009 , the guidance system was thought to be still in an evolutionary process as more UAVs and satellites are added. The US Department of Defense stated in 2010 that China has developed and reached initial operating capability (IOC) of

3690-446: The DF-21D does not fly any faster than Mach 5. The DF-21D may also not be as fast as theorized. While ballistic missiles reenter the atmosphere at speeds between Mach 8-15 at an altitude of 50 km (160,000 ft), increasing air resistance in the denser low-atmosphere region reduces terminal speed to around Mach 2 at 3–5 km (9,800–16,400 ft). It cannot acquire its target until this point due to ionization blockage, leaving

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3780-573: The Earth's atmosphere, as in the atmosphere the particles of air interfere with and disperse the directed energy. Nazi Germany had a project for such a weapon, considered a wunderwaffe , the sun gun , which would have been an orbital concave mirror able to concentrate the sun's energy on a ground target. In the context of space-based deployment, directed-energy weapons can be distinguished as either “high-powered” or “dazzler.” High-powered satellite-operated lasers are intended to deal irreversible damage to

3870-572: The Earth, one sees the position of the target slightly more than a second earlier. Thus even a laser would need ~1.28 seconds, meaning a laser-based weapon system would need to lead a target's apparent position by 1.28×2 = 2.56 seconds. A projectile from a railgun recently tested by the US Navy would take over 18 hours to cross that distance, if it travels in a straight line at a constant velocity of 5.8 km/s along its entire trajectory. Three factors make engaging targets in space very difficult. First,

3960-540: The Pacific, extended the BMD program to all Aegis destroyers and increased procurement of SM-3 BMD missiles. The United States also has a large network optimized for tracking ballistic missile launches which may give carrier groups sufficient warning in order to move away from the target area while the missile is in flight. Kinetic defenses against the DF-21D would be difficult. The Navy's primary ballistic missile interceptor,

4050-454: The SM-3, would not be effective since it is designed to intercept missiles in the mid-course phase in space, so it would have to be launched almost immediately to hit before reentry or from an Aegis ship positioned under its flight path. The SM-2 Block 4 can intercept missiles reentering the atmosphere, but the warhead will be performing high-G maneuvers that may complicate interception. By 2016,

4140-645: The South China Sea. US officials subsequently assessed that the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) had fired four medium-range ballistic missiles in total. The missile tests drew criticism from Japan, the Pentagon and Taiwan. The DF-26 is an enhancement of the DF-21 with range increased to more than 5,000 km (3,100 mi). Its existence was officially confirmed by the Chinese state in

4230-399: The US Navy was testing the vastly more capable SM-6 , which is designed to intercept ballistic missiles in the terminal phase. The SM-6 began deployment in 2013. In late 2013, a Russian Military Analysis report of the DF-21D concluded that the only way to successfully counter it would be through electronic countermeasures . Conventional interceptions of high-speed objectives have worked in

4320-496: The United States demonstrated its conventional ASAT capabilities by launching an ASM-135 ASAT from an F-15 to shoot down the Solwind P78-1 , an American research satellite, from its 555-kilometre (345 mi) orbit. The People's Republic of China successfully tested (see 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test ) a ballistic missile-launched anti-satellite weapon on January 11, 2007. This resulted in harsh criticism from

4410-454: The United States has toyed with kinetic bombardment , i.e. orbiting magazines of non-explosive projectiles to be dropped onto hardened targets from low Earth orbit . Kinetic weapons have always been widespread in conventional warfare—bullets, arrows, swords, clubs, etc.—but the energy a projectile would gain while falling from orbit would make such a weapon rival all but the most powerful explosives. A direct hit would presumably destroy all but

4500-538: The United States of America, Britain, and Japan. The U.S. developed an interceptor missile, the SM-3 , testing it by hitting ballistic test targets while they were in space. On February 21, 2008, the U.S. used an SM-3 missile to destroy a spy satellite, USA-193 , while it was 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles ) above the Pacific Ocean. Japan fields the U.S.-made SM-3 missile, and there have been plans to base

4590-542: The United States was able in the 1980s to develop ground-to-space laser anti-satellite weapons. None of these systems are known to be active today; however, a less powerful civilian version of the ground-to-space laser system is commonly used in the astronomical technique of adaptive optics . In 1984, the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) was proposed. It was nicknamed Star Wars after the popular science fiction franchise Star Wars . In 1985,

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4680-668: The United States would introduce the U-2 spy plane in 1956. It was thought, at the time of its introduction, that the plane’s service ceiling of 24,000 metres (80,000 ft) would render it immune to Soviet aircraft, missiles, and radar. That was the case until the 1960 U-2 incident , where a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defense Forces’ S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. Three years before

4770-458: The United States, PRC, Russia, and France, are actively pursuing these capabilities. Space warfare is likely to be done at far larger distances and speeds than combat on Earth. The vast distances pose big challenges for targeting and tracking, as even light requires a few seconds to cover hundreds of thousands of kilometers. For example, if trying to fire on a target at the distance of the Moon from

4860-411: The ballistic missiles are fragile and two, chemical lasers project missile killing energy (3,000 kilometers). This meant that lasers could be put into space to intercept a ballistic missile . Systems proposed ranged from measures as simple as ground and space-based anti-missiles to railguns , space based lasers, orbital mines and similar weaponry. Deployment of these systems was seriously considered in

4950-448: The benefit of leveraging existing technologies and a certain element of surprise, as an attack cannot be detected until a missile has exited its silo, there are significant downsides. Firstly, there is the cost disparity of using an ICBM or ABM to kill a small and inexpensive satellite. Additionally, these missiles are not designed to send payloads out to geocentric orbit, as such they can only affect targets in low earth orbit and only in

5040-686: The context of the Strategic Defense Initiative , the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States worked on a project for expandable space-based x-ray lasers powered by a nuclear explosion, Project Excalibur , a project canceled in 1992 for lack of results. SDI projects included Zenith Star , using the Alpha chemical laser. General William L. Shelton has said that in order to protect against attacks, Space Situational Awareness

5130-653: The design of the Space Shuttle had been guided by a requirement to deliver a payload- such as a bomb- over Russia and return to land after a single orbit. This may have been a confusion based on requirements 3A and 3B for the shuttle's design, which required the craft to be able to deploy or retrieve an object from a polar orbit in a single pass. Both the Soviets and the United States developed anti-satellite weaponry designed to shoot down satellites. While early efforts paralleled other space-to-space warfare concepts,

5220-410: The early 1960s, the U.S. military produced a film called Space and National Security which depicted space warfare. Through the 1970s, the Soviet Union continued their project and test-fired a cannon to test space station defense. This was considered too dangerous to do with a crew on board, however, so the test was conducted after the crew had returned to Earth. A 1976 Soviet report suggested that

5310-620: The end of the INF Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union , to which the People's Republic of China is not a party. The emergence of the DF-21D has some analysts claiming that the "carrier killer" missiles have rendered the American use of aircraft carriers obsolete, as they are too vulnerable in the face of the new weapon and not worth the expense. Military leaders in the U.S. Navy and Air Force, however, do not see it as

5400-403: The extension of conventional weaponry into orbit for deployment against ground targets. Though international treaties ban the deployment of nuclear missiles outside the atmosphere, other categories of weapons are largely unregulated. Traditional ground-based weapons are generally not useful in orbital environments, and few if any would survive re-entry even if they were, but as early as the 1950s,

5490-526: The incident, in 1957, a modified R-7 rocket carried the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 , into an orbit hundreds of kilometers above sea level, notably beyond the reach of any existing weapons system. While Sputnik 1 held no military value, only transmitting radio signals back to Earth for three weeks, its launch sparked the beginning of the Space Race . This spurred the United States to hasten and re-emphasize its space programs, culminating in

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5580-534: The land-based version in Romania and Vietnam. In March 2019, India shot down a satellite orbiting in a low Earth orbit using an ASAT missile during an operation code named Mission Shakti , thus making its way to the list of space warfare nations, establishing the Defense Space Agency the following month, followed by its first-ever simulated space warfare exercise on July 25 which would inform

5670-464: The largest artificial object in Earth orbit, measures slightly over 100m at its largest span. Other satellites can be vastly smaller, e.g., Quickbird measures only 3.04m. External ballistics for stationary terrestrial targets is enormously complicated—some of the earliest analog computers were used to calculate firing solutions for naval artillery, as the problems were already beyond manual solutions in any reasonable time—and targeting objects in space

5760-581: The launch of the Jianbing/ Yaogan satellites would give the Chinese targeting information from SAR ( synthetic-aperture radar ) and visual imaging respectively. The upgrades enhance China's ability to prevent US carriers from operating in the Taiwan Strait . Some have also suggested China could develop a DF-21D with multiple reentry vehicles . Between 2009 and 2012, China launched a series of satellites to support its ASBM efforts: China

5850-455: The mid-1980s under the banner of the Strategic Defense Initiative announced by Ronald Reagan in 1983, using the term "evil empire" to describe the Soviets (hence the popular nickname "Star Wars"). If the Cold War had continued, many of these systems could potentially have seen deployment: the United States developed working railguns, and a laser that could destroy missiles at range, though

5940-401: The mid-2010s, but it had already been in service for several years. On 26 August 2020, a DF-26B was fired from Qinghai province into an area between Hainan and the Paracel Islands as a response to a U.S. U-2 spy plane entering into a no-fly zone during a Chinese live-fire naval drill the day earlier. Anti-satellite and Anti-ballistic missile version based on DF-21. Multiple test

6030-468: The missiles were purchased in 2007. Conventionally-armed DF-3 missiles were bought by Saudi Arabia in 1988, but were not used during the 1990-1991 Gulf War due to their poor accuracy and the potential for collateral damage . Saudi Arabia wanted the shorter-ranged but much more accurate DF-21 as an upgrade. The United States approved of the purchase on the condition that the missiles were conventionally-armed. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) examined

6120-574: The modified nosecones and concluded that nuclear warheads that might be purchased from China or Pakistan could not be fitted. Space warfare Space warfare is combat in which one or more belligerents are in outer space . The scope of space warfare includes ground-to-space warfare , such as attacking satellites from the Earth ; space-to-space warfare , such as satellites attacking satellites; and space-to-ground warfare , such as satellites attacking Earth-based targets. Space warfare in fiction

6210-420: The most hardened targets without the need for nuclear weapons. Such a system would involve a 'spotter' satellite, which would identify targets from orbit with high-power sensors, and a nearby 'magazine' satellite to de-orbit a long, needle-like tungsten dart onto it with a small rocket motor or just dropping a very big rock from orbit (such as an asteroid, cf. Ivan's hammer ). This would be more useful against

6300-410: The most popular space opera military miniature wargame which spawned successful spin-off media : novels , video-games and on-going live adaption based on books by Dan Abnett . Both kinetic and directed energy weapons are often seen, along with various military space vessels. E. E. Smith 's Lensman is an early example, which also inspired the term space opera due to the grandiose scale of

6390-564: The past, with the Russian report citing the 2008 interception of a malfunctioning satellite by a U.S. cruiser, but in that situation the warship had extensive knowledge of its location and trajectory. Against an attack from the Mach 10 DF-21D without knowing the missile's launch point, the U.S. Navy's only way to evade it would be through electronic countermeasures. Use of such a missile has been said by some experts to potentially lead to nuclear exchange, regional arms races with India and Japan, and

6480-585: The payload, PS-2 microsatellite (40 kg) into wrong orbit. The satellite completed barely one orbit before re-entering the atmosphere. The Kaituozhe-1 launcher appears to have been cancelled after two unsuccessful launches. A third (in 2004) and fourth launch have been rumored, but are not confirmed. The rocket had three variants: the Kaituozhe-1 ( KT-1 ), the Kaituozhe-1A ( KT-1A , originally designated KT-2, not to be confused with KT-2 below) and

6570-490: The power requirements, range, and firing cycles of both were impractical. Weapons like the space-based laser was rejected, not just by the government, but by universities, moral thinkers, and religious people because it would have increased the waging of the arms race and questioned the United States' role in the Cold War. With the end of the Cold War and continued development of satellite and electronics technology, attention

6660-575: The rocket is capable of mobile-launch from a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle. The Kaituozhe-2A (KT-2A) features a possibly DF-31 based stage 1, augmented by two DF-21 based strap-on boosters. It features a stage 2 with the same diameter as the stage 1 and the same smaller diameter stage 3 as the Kaituozhe-2. It has reportedly a payload of 2000 kg to low Earth orbit. DF-21 The Dongfeng 21 ( DF-21 ; NATO reporting name CSS-5 - Dong-Feng ( simplified Chinese : 东风 ; traditional Chinese : 東風 ; lit. 'East Wind')

6750-550: The sensitive parts, mainly optics, on satellites and have the advantage of being difficult to attribute to an actor. Though, it is difficult to confirm the success of an attack. Dazzlers are not intended to deal irreversible damage but rather disable a target satellite. It maintains the same advantages and disadvantages as the high-powered variant. Though such systems not yet functional, the US Defense Intelligence Agency notes that several actors, including

6840-571: The so-called Starfish Prime test, took place in 1962 when the United States exploded a ground-launched nuclear weapon in space to test the effects of an electromagnetic pulse . The result was a deactivation of many then-orbiting satellites, both American and Soviet. The deleterious and unfocused effects of the EMP test led to the banning of nuclear weapons in space in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. (See high-altitude nuclear explosion .) In

6930-461: The stories. Orson Scott Card 's Ender's Game series is a notable example in that it makes a conjecture as to what sort of tactics and training would be needed for war in outer space. Other scifi authors have also delved into the tactics of space combat, such as David Weber in his Honorverse series, and Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in their Mote in God's Eye series. A more recent example

7020-473: The subject; the Wing Commander franchise is a prototypical example. Few games try to simulate realistic distance and speed, though Independence War and Frontier: Elite II both do, as does the board game Attack Vector: Tactical . Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning fictional empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of such an empire. Said empire's capital

7110-590: The time. The history of active space warfare development goes back to the 1960s when the Soviet Union began the Almaz project, a project designed to give them the ability to do on-orbit inspections of satellites and destroy them if needed. Similar planning in the United States took the form of the Blue Gemini project, which consisted of modified Gemini capsules that would be able to deploy weapons and perform surveillance. One early test of electronic space warfare,

7200-430: The vast distances mean that an error of even a fraction of a degree in the firing solution can mean a miss by thousands of kilometers. Second, spaceflight involves tremendous speeds by terrestrial standards—a geostationary satellite moves at 3.07 km/s, and objects in low Earth orbit move at ~8 km/s. Third, though distances are huge, targets remain relatively small. The International Space Station , currently

7290-787: Was a United States Space Command , which in 2002 merged with the United States Strategic Command , leaving the United States Space Force (formerly Air Force Space Command until 2019) as the primary American military space force . The Russian Space Force , established on August 10, 1992, which became an independent section of the Russian Armed Forces on June 1, 2001, was replaced by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces starting December 1, 2011, but

7380-460: Was conducted. The missile is capable of targeting ballistic missiles and satellite outside of the Earth atmosphere. The "KF-21" (possible Chinese designation, NATO designation : CH-AS-X-13) is reported to be an air-launched variant of the DF-21 with a nuclear or anti-ship role. It is a two-stage missile with a range of 3000 km. Weight may have been reduced by using composite materials. The War Zone reported two possible warhead configurations;

7470-582: Was extensively used for warfare following Russia's invasion of Ukraine after the country's previous satcom provider Viasat were cyberattacked in the first few days of the invasion. Starlink was used for defense and attacks on Russian positions, with Starlink terminals being namely strapped on strike drones and sea drones . SpaceX vowed and acted against the use of their Starlink service for active warfare, while Russia launched cyberattacks against Starlink and threatened of striking Starlink satellites directly in retaliation. On October 31, 2023, as part of

7560-401: Was fitted with four control fins to perform a 25-G pull-up after reentering the atmosphere, traveling at Mach 8 and then gliding 30 nmi (35 mi; 56 km) to the target to pitch into a terminal dive. Army training manuals about the missile are available on the internet and public open-source literature extensively describes it; the DF-21 has a comparable range and payload. Though much

7650-512: Was focused on space as a supporting theatre for conventional warfare. Currently, military operations in space primarily concern either the vast tactical advantages of satellite-based surveillance , communications , and positioning systems or mechanisms used to deprive an opponent of said tactical advantages. Accordingly, most space-borne proposals which would traditionally be considered "weapons" (a communications or reconnaissance satellite may be useful in warfare but isn't generally classified as

7740-823: Was reestablished as a component of the Russian Aerospace Forces on August 1, 2015. In 2019, India conducted a test of the ASAT missile ; this made out the fourth country with that capability. In April of the same year, the Indian Armed Forces established the Defence Space Agency . During the early Cold War, a survivable reconnaissance asset was considered highly valuable. In a time before satellites, this meant building an aircraft that could fly higher or faster, or both, compared to any interceptor that would try to bring it down. Notably,

7830-715: Was reported to be working on an over-the-horizon radar in 2013 to locate the targets for the ASBM. An apparent test of the missile was made against a target in the Gobi Desert in January 2013. In 2014, the U.S. Navy reported that images that have appeared on the internet showed similarities of a DF-21D re-entry vehicle to the American Pershing II missile's RV, which was withdrawn from service in 1988. The Pershing II's RV weighed 1,400 lb (640 kg) and

7920-429: Was reported to see six sequential vertical flashes, each comprising a cluster of up to six individual projectiles. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric called the use of the intermediate-range weapon "concerning and worrying". In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, the Soviet Union and the United States theorized, designed and in some cases tested a variety of weaponry designed for warfare in outer space. Space warfare

8010-462: Was seen primarily as an extension of nuclear warfare , and many theoretical systems were based around the destruction or defense of ground and sea-based missiles . Space-based missiles were not attempted due to the Outer Space Treaty , which banned the use, testing or storage of nuclear weapons outside the Earth's atmosphere. When the U.S. gained "interest in utilizing space-based lasers for ballistic missile defense", two facts emerged. One being that

8100-555: Was used, and Ukrainian media initially reported it was an RS-26 Rubezh ICBM with range 5,800 km. The US and Russia confirmed it was intermediate-range (3,000–5,500 km), but the Pentagon stated it was based on the RS-26 ICBM. It was fired from the Astrakhan region 700 km away. Analysts stated the missile used a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV), likely marking their first use in combat. The night attack

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