China’s efforts to win a new space race could bring the world into “stagnation”, a British MP and former military officer has warned.
The country is trying to become the king of satellite navigation, aiming to replace America’s GPS with its own BeiDou system (allegedly to spy on users) and even arming its own space station. It may be possible to do it “easily”.
China is believed to have the ability to destroy other countries’ space assets, including satellites, by ramming them into space.
Over the past 20 years, the country has grown from “nothing” in space to one of the world’s most formidable space powers.
Currently, preparations are being made to expand the permanent space station Tiangong, and for the first time in history, an unmanned lunar exploration mission has begun with the aim of bringing back samples from the moon’s “dark side.”
New photos from the Chang’e 6 mission appear to show a secret “undisclosed” probe strapped to the side of the lander.
Learn more about the new space race
Former British Defense and Foreign Secretary Tobias Ellwood said China was also promoting the use of satellites. wireless Spelling problems in navigation systems, BeiDou, UK and other Western countries.
He also explains that China could easily wipe out GPS around the world and stop the world from being shattered.
Countries will become heavily dependent on GPS to conduct daily tasks such as banking and tracking planes, and many industries will not be able to function without GPS.
He told The Sun newspaper: “This is worrying. If BeiDou becomes more widespread and operational, many countries that do business with China will move away from GPS and use BeiDou’s system. We will be forced to do so.”
“It’s a soft element Power “It’s very concerning that China is using it.”
China’s $10bn (£8bn) Beidou network of 35 satellites will replace the US government-owned Global Positioning System (GPS) as the world’s dominant satellite navigation system. It aims to increase its influence in other countries.
GPS is so important to life on Earth that entire branches of the U.S. military are tasked with keeping it online.
The National Space Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board, which advises the U.S. government on GPS policy, said after a November 2022 meeting that “GPS capabilities are currently significantly inferior to China’s BeiDou capabilities.” I warned you.
BeiDou is an alternative to Russia’s GLONASS, Europe’s Galileo system, and America’s GPS.
Experts say Beidou becoming the dominant satellite broadcasting service globally will weaken the political and economic influence of the United States and increase China’s influence. future trade, diplomacy and military conflicts.
Countries using Beidou may become more vulnerable to blackmail as China could threaten to cut off access to Beidou services.
However, the US is also concerned that China could use BeiDou to spy on users, spacenews.com reports.
Although the full extent of the dangers posed by China as a space power are not yet known, Ellwood said the country operates a space station that is “easily armable.”
He told The Sun: “They already have robots on the far side of the moon, but we can’t see them so that’s a problem for people who want to scrutinize what they’re doing.” Ta.
Elwood added: “The problem is we simply don’t know (the threat).
“What we are realizing is that space has become the ultimate highland.
“You own geostationary orbit and can control everything that happens below it. Every part of our lives, including our safety, depends on GPS – how we move through the air, how our planes move, and even how our finances move.
“And if you can shut it down, if you can shut down the GPS satellite constellation, you can easily cause such enormous economic damage that it brings our country to a standstill…Okay fencing there, it really is. Yo.”
China has “kamikaze” satellites that can orbit other satellites and send infrared signals to “attack” enemy satellites, as well as aircraft that can fire missiles at satellites from high altitudes.
Mr Ellwood said it was a “best kept secret” that around 30% of the world’s small satellites were produced in the UK, but space remained “a whole theater of war that we don’t really understand”.
He said: “If we were to go head-to-head with other countries like China or Russia, no matter the severity, it would be very important to everything that happens down there. That’s where the first military engagements will actually take place.”
“So China investment so much. “
The US government spent around $73bn (£59bn) on its space program last year, followed by the Chinese government, which spent more than $14bn (£11bn) on its space programme, Statista reports.
Meanwhile, a senior US government official says Russia has secret testbeds in space that it is using to develop “indiscriminate” nuclear-based anti-satellite weapons.
The dire warning was issued this week, days after another official warned Congress that the anti-satellite weapon could render low-Earth orbit completely “unusable,” TWZ reports. Ta.
With China and Russia said to be developing and testing technology for use in space for military purposes, the UK needs to consider how to protect and defend its vital assets.
Mr Elwood said: ”[We must] We are able to protect our satellites and are tracking them very carefully to prevent any erroneous actions that would interfere with what is going on, but congestion in the state is making that increasingly difficult.
“Next, we need to see if we can defend, if we can attack other satellites.
“In fact, the third element is to introduce international law regarding conduct in space, but no one is willing to sit around the table and clarify what that is.”
British Space Force personnel constantly monitor space “to protect British interests”.
Russia, China, the United States and the United Kingdom are among the 115 parties to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which represents the basic legal framework for international space law.
Whether it’s lasers, missiles, or nuclear weapons, it’s only a matter of time before significant weapons systems enter the space arena.
tobias elwood
A core principle of the treaty is that signatories will not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or otherwise place weapons in outer space.
Doing so would have dire consequences for all countries as the attack would affect all countries’ satellites.
Dr. Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said countries such as Russia and China could seek to place nuclear weapons in orbit to increase their threat capabilities.
He told The Sun: “[They]said, ‘Don’t interfere with us when we interfere internationally. If you do, there’s a risk that we might use a nuclear attack in space, so don’t use that. ‘It’s part of our arsenal to harm you.’
Dr. Mendoza explained that in the event of a nuclear explosion in space, the electromagnetic pulse would “knock out” satellites everywhere.
“If you think about all the infrastructure and development today, the consequences will be catastrophic,” he said.
“It’s all controlled by computers, it’s all controlled by the connectivity provided by the satellites.
“This will have a serious impact on daily life.”
Power can’t do that. the goal He said that because certain satellites are equipped with nuclear weapons, all satellites within a certain radius will be affected by the explosion.
According to the Royal Air Force, “disruption to the UK’s use of space, or the use of space by the UK’s allies, could have a significant impact on civil, commercial and defense activities.”
Mr Ellwood said the 1967 agreement was “quite outdated” given the world powers’ rapid advances in their space programs and Mars and Moon exploration capabilities.
A former soldier said: “There are countries that are promoting dual-use operations, mining On the far side of the moon.
“And it is only a matter of time before significant weapons systems, whether lasers, missiles, or even nuclear weapons, make their way onto the space stage.
“So there’s a lot to worry about, a lot to ask, a lot of homework.”
China’s Chang’e 6 probe scheduled to land on the moon Next It will collect approximately 2 kg of soil and rocks each month and return to Earth with samples around June 25th.
Why the moon’s south pole?
The lunar south pole is a site of interest to all spacefaring nations, including India, Russia, China, and the United States.