Anti-satellite weapon test?, Is this true? Options

[Thu]

According to this link, China fired a missile to destroy an orbiting weather satellite last week: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_Tras...e_Test_999.html

I am curios about what kind of projectile could be used? A "smart" one with on board guidance system or just a dumb one? How close did the "killer satellite" came to the target?

Does anybody have an idea?

[mchan]

There was an article quoting unamed sources that there were three previous unsuccessful attempts.

Regarding detecting / tracking the ASAT engine plume, the ASAT would only need course correction maneuvers in the end game. These burns are relatively low energy. Early warning sats are required to detect rocket plumes during boost phase which are much larger. Whether their sensors are sensitive enough to detect small ASAT course correction burns is unknown outside the classified realm, but my guess is not likely.

Regarding staring sensors, the operational US early warning sats in geosynchronous orbit still use a scanning sensor. There have been tests of staring senors in add-on payloads to other military sats in high elliptical orbits. I don't recall reading that these are in operational use.

[Bob Shaw]

There was an article quoting unamed sources that there were three previous unsuccessful attempts.

Regarding detecting / tracking the ASAT engine plume, the ASAT would only need course correction maneuvers in the end game. These burns are relatively low energy.

I'm not surprised to hear that, three sounds sorta sensible for a demo programme.

As for the rocket plume, I'll grant that control inputs will lessen as 'rendezvous' (haha) approaches, but you still need a reasonable belt to get up there in the first place, and that's the signature which would be detected. I'd also wager that the test took place over some appropriate part of China and that the USAF had a good idea of which might be a target satellite well in advance, thus making detection almost a numbers game. And that numbers game would serve to obfuscate the exact capabilities of US space intelligence assets, too... ...staring IR or not!


Bob Shaw