Media: ‘China is serious about winning the new space race’

“China is serious about winning the new space race,” The Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said, Report informs.

“Of all the potential threats that China poses to the United States, the most worrisome for me is future domination of space. Quietly but persistently, the Chinese are developing an arsenal of weapons to challenge America — the nation that landed the first man on the moon — for preeminence in this domain,” he said.

According to him, Beijing recognizes that space is the ultimate “high ground” and wants to control it: “The United States’ response to China’s bid for dominance will be a mix of government systems and commercial satellite arrays being developed by SpaceX’s Starlink, Maxar and many dozens of other ‘New Space’ companies that are building what amount to commercial communications and surveillance networks in low-Earth orbit. The Pentagon is partnering with more than 130 of these companies.

The Chinese appear to be preparing for a kind of cyberwar in space that would jam or disable satellites. As thousands of satellites maneuver in this newly contested domain, there’s an obvious need to establish norms and standards of conduct. Otherwise, the United States could find itself surrendering its once-formidable lead on the final frontier.”