China and the United States are rapidly expanding their military capabilities in space, with new technologies and increasingly complex orbital operations raising concerns about how a future conflict could extend beyond Earth.
In June, a secretive unmanned Chinese spaceplane released a small satellite hundreds of miles above Earth, operating in an orbital region crowded with both commercial and military satellites, according to US space-tracking company LeoLabs.
The released object then reportedly manoeuvred around another Chinese satellite before looping back towards the spaceplane. Little is known about the satellite or the purpose of the mission.
The development mirrors the United States’ own classified unmanned spaceplane programme, which uses a vehicle resembling a small space shuttle. Both programmes highlight the rapidly evolving nature of military operations in orbit as Beijing and Washington prepare for the possibility of conflict extending into space, according to a Reuters review of documents, space-tracking data and interviews with current and former military officials.
Chinese researchers with links to the military are also developing technologies aimed at pursuing and potentially capturing other spacecraft. A Reuters review of patent documents, procurement notices and academic papers found research into systems that could also allow spacecraft to extend their fuel supplies while carrying out such operations.
Meanwhile, the United States and Britain have conducted their first joint military operation in space, with the mission taking place along the orbital path of a suspected Chinese spy satellite, according to commercial space-tracking data.
The developments come as China continues to expand its capabilities in what is increasingly viewed as a potential new domain of military competition.
“The Chinese are rapidly developing capabilities,” including weapons based on the ground and in space that could interfere with or destroy targets, US Space Force Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman said in July.
Saltzman, who is due to retire, described the threat posed by China as “substantial”.
The growing capabilities on both sides underscore how satellites and other spacecraft could become increasingly important — and potentially vulnerable — in any future military confrontation.
