◀ anchor ▶
It seems that the space wars you see only in science fiction movies may actually take place.
This is because the great powers are engaged in a military competition in space.
Killer satellites and even satellites with robotic arms are appearing as they compete to develop technologies that destroy or paralyze opponents’ satellites.
Reporter Kwon Hee-jin, who specializes in international issues, focused on the coverage.
◀ Report ▶
On the 15th, Russia shot down its satellite with a missile and detonated it.
Numerous fragments poured out and began to fly through space at eight times the speed of bullets.
It was a dangerous situation where astronauts from the space station were evacuated.
The U.S. particularly strongly criticized the military provocation from space with a “satellite down” test.
[네드 프라이스/미 국무부 대변인]
“(Russian satellite interception) proves that Russia’s statements against weaponizing space are false and hypocritical.”
Russia is silent on the reasons for carrying out such a shoot-down test.
Because of this, there is a lot of speculation that something new satellite attack technology was developed and tested.
[이춘근 박사/과학기술정책연구원]
“I’m a little puzzled. Why did they shoot down this at this point? They applied new technology to develop technologies that make it easier and more accurate to shoot down satellites (it can be guessed)”
The fact that Russia is stepping up its space cooperation with China also stimulated the United States.
China, which is rapidly catching up with the United States in space technology, is putting considerable effort into developing its satellite-attack capabilities.
This is because victory in modern warfare depends on how to subdue the opponent’s satellite.
Satellites are used for all key military operations, including missile detection, positioning, and communications.
China’s satellite attack technology, such as low-orbit satellite-destroying missiles and satellite paralysis lasers, is now on par with the United States, according to the Pentagon.
China is also known to have reached a significant level in the development of combat satellites.
In 2013, two satellites were launched from Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces respectively.
The U.S. Department of Defense reported to Congress that they were ‘killer satellites’ for satellite attack.
[이춘근 박사/과학기술정책연구원]
“It doesn’t have such a function as observation satellite communication, it’s because it has the ability to hit and shoot down the opponent’s satellite…”
China is also launching satellites with robotic arms one after another.
It’s a justification for cleaning up space junk.
But the U.S. Space Force is nervous that the robotic arm is a de facto space weapon for attacking other satellites.
[문홍규 박사/한국천문연구원]
“One bang will destroy everything. Using force to disable (opponent satellites) can be used for military purposes as well.”
As China’s aerospace technology is rapidly growing, competition between the US and China in space is also intensifying.
China’s state-owned aerospace companies have more than 300,000 researchers, and the number of researchers at NASA’s 18,000 is 18 times larger.
This is Heejin Kwon from MBC News.
Video source: YouTube VideoFromSpace / YouTube Chinese newspaper network
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