DN-3 test contrails
A Chinese military official recently confirmed Beijing’s latest test of a satellite-killing missile that threatens U.S. space assets.
Zhou Derong, a professor at the People’s Liberation Army Logistics Academy, described the development of anti-satellite weapons as being part of China’s national defense.
Writing in an official science and technology publication, Zhou was quoted as responding to reports of the flight testing of China’s DN-3 anti-satellite missile first reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Nov. 9.
“It is perfectly legitimate for China to carry out normal missile launch tests,” Zhou said. “Besides, even if China were developing anti-satellite weapons, these would be no more than self-defense measures taken to protect its own space resources.”
Zhou criticized the United States for opposing and exaggerating “other countries’ anti-satellite tests”—a reference to China.
“But in reality, [the United States] itself is the country which possesses the most types of anti-satellite weapons and conducts the most tests,” Zhou wrote.
According to Zhou, disclosures of Chinese missile tests by the United States are aimed at discrediting China and portraying Beijing as a threatening power.
“One of the reasons why the United States irresponsibly guesses about and exaggerates China’s normal missile launch tests is to subconsciously portray China as a malefactor and disturber of order,” Zhou said. “It is also to play up the ‘China Threat Theory,’ put itself in the role of a victim, and provide an excuse for the development of its own space forces.”
The article appeared Dec. 7 in the online edition of the newspaper Science and Technology Daily, an official publication of the China State Science and Technology Commission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
The administration is one of the main Chinese government organs involved in widespread collection and theft of U.S. defense technology secrets.
U.S. defense officials revealed that a test of the Dong Neng-3 missile, described as an exoatmospheric vehicle with anti-satellite strike capabilities, was carried out Oct. 30 from China’s Korla Missile Test Complex in western China.
Images of contrails from the missile test were posted on Chinese websites.
Officials said the missile is the third known anti-satellite missile operational or under development by China. Earlier tests involved anti-satellite missiles known as the DN-1 and DN-2. The DN-1 has also been labeled the SC-19.
China, along with Russia, has been proposing an international ban on weapons in space. At the same time, Beijing and Moscow are both known to be developing ground-based anti-satellite missiles.
Frank Rose, assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification, and compliance, rejected the space arms ban during a speech in Beijing on Nov. 30.
“The most pressing and existing threat to outer space systems is actually terrestrially based anti-satellite weapons, which exist, have been tested and have already damaged the space environment,” Rose said. “The continued development of such weapons, and their potential use in a conflict, should be of grave concern to all governments. Due to high-impact speed in space, even sub-millimeter debris poses a realistic threat to human spaceflight and robotic missions.”
The Pentagon has no announced anti-satellite weapons, after canceling an aircraft-launched anti-satellite missile program in the 1980s. However, a modified Navy SM-3 anti-missile interceptor was used in 2008 to knock out a falling reconnaissance satellite in low-earth orbit, demonstrating some anti-satellite arms capabilities.
By contrast, China is building anti-satellite missiles and other weapons that can destroy satellites at the highest geosynchronous orbits, some 22,000 miles above the earth. In addition to missiles, the Chinese are working on ground-based lasers and electronic jammers to disrupt or destroy satellites. Small maneuvering satellites also have been tested that are capable of grabbing and crushing orbiting satellites.
The latest annual report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned that China is pursuing an array of space warfare capabilities, called counterspace weapons.
Chinese anti-satellite missiles “are designed to disable or destroy a satellite or spacecraft using one of several possible kill mechanisms, such as a kinetic kill vehicle,” the report said.
“The missiles typically are launched against pre-selected targets, as they must either wait for the target satellite to pass overhead within a certain distance from the launch site, or target a stationary satellite within range of the launch site,” the report added.
During a war, China plans to use a combination of “hard” destructive attacks and “soft” strikes that temporarily disrupt the functioning of satellites or ground systems.
China in 2007 carried out a missile test that targeted an orbiting weather satellite, creating thousands of pieces of space debris that currently threaten manned and unmanned spacecraft.
After protests over the disruptive 2007 test, China has limited its anti-satellite missile tests to near-space and atmospheric intercepts, and has sought to mask the initiative as a program designed to shoot down missiles.
Defense officials said the Pentagon, and in particular the Air Force, are very concerned about Chinese anti-satellite weapons, that with as few as two dozen strikes could cripple the critical satellites used for communications, navigation, targeting and other strategic military functions.
During a House hearing in March, Air Force Lt. Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space, warned that “we are quickly approaching the point where every satellite in every orbit can be threatened.”
|
原文在此，裏麵沒有說是反衛星測試。2015年12月07日 星期一
|
■科報講武堂
近日互聯網上流傳的一組在中國新疆地區拍攝的奇異夜空景觀引起國際媒體的關注。美國華盛頓《自由燈塔報》引述五角大樓知情人士的話報道稱，中國進行了可擊落美國衛星的新型導彈的飛行測試。美國國防部一名官員認為，中國對DN-3型大氣層外打擊攔截導彈進行了測試。
對此，後勤學院軍事專家周德榮教授在接受科技日報記者采訪時指出，“中國進行正常的導彈發射試驗，無可非議。退一步講，中國就算是發展反衛星武器，也是一種保護自身太空資源的自我防衛措施。美國動輒指責和炒作其他國家進行疑似反衛星武器的試驗，但實際上，美國是擁有反衛星武器種類和進行試驗最多的國家。”
那麽，什麽是大氣層外打擊攔截導彈？目前打衛星的方式都有哪些？美國為何熱衷於炒作中國的導彈發射試驗？
周德榮介紹說，大氣層外打擊攔截導彈是一種動能攔截彈，由火箭推進係統和作為彈頭的動能殺傷飛行器組成，借助彈頭高速飛行時所產生的巨大動能，通過直接碰撞而摧毀大氣層外軍用目標的武器係統，主要用於攔截彈道導彈和其他軍用目標，如衛星等。大氣層外動能攔截導彈關鍵是能否把動能殺傷飛行器送到目標高度，能否精準捕獲和打擊目標。其關鍵技術主要有六項：一是火箭推進技術，二是精確捕獲目標特征信號信息的導引技術，三是處理導引頭信息的高速信號處理機及技術，四是確定動能殺傷器自身速度和姿態的慣性測量裝置及技術，五是用於動能殺傷器製導計算和飛行路線修正計算的高速數據處理機及技術，六是使動能殺傷器快速機動的姿軌控係統及技術。
周德榮告訴記者，從前蘇聯發射第一顆人造衛星起，美國就一直致力於空間對抗武器裝備的研製，加緊發展各種空間對抗武器，以保持美國在空間的絕對優勢。目前，美國在打衛星方麵采取的手段主要包括：陸（海/空）基動能反衛星武器、微小衛星反衛星武器、電子幹擾反衛星武器、激光反衛星武器、高能微波反衛星武器、衛星捕獲武器等，美國空間對抗已經由發展防禦性空間對抗裝備轉變為大力發展進攻性空間對抗裝備。
進入21世紀後，美國還大力發展自主逼近、交會對接等複雜航天技術在反衛星武器上的應用，力圖研製更加先進的反衛星武器。特別是當美國能成功地進行非合作目標的交會對接時，擁有該種能力的衛星將很容易轉換為反衛星武器，這也是美國重點試驗該項技術的主要原因之一。
“近年來，美國國防部雖沒有啟動新的反衛星專項計劃，卻一直在以反導技術帶動反衛技術的發展。這既可避免直接發展反衛武器可能招致的政治、法律和外交風險，也可借反導係統的發展為反衛作戰積累關鍵技術。美軍於2008年年初用‘標準—3’反導攔截彈成功摧毀失控偵察衛星的試驗，即印證了反導係統同時具備反衛能力。”周德榮說。
“中國始終堅持‘積極防禦’的軍事戰略，曆來主張‘人不犯我、我不犯人’的原則。中國進行正常的導彈發射試驗，無可非議。”周德榮指出，“美國妄自猜測和炒作中國正常的導彈發射試驗，其目的一是潛移默化地灌輸中國是麻煩製造者和秩序破壞者的負麵形象。二是渲染‘中國威脅論’，塑造受威脅者形象，為自己發展太空戰力量尋找借口。”
