Analysis of Developments in the Space Domain
27 December 2020: China launches secret military satellite using a Long March 4C rocket.
Reporting of Yaogan 33 capabilities is inconsistent: SAR, EO and SIGINT are all mentioned in different forums.
The 27 December launch was China’s final for the year. China successfully launched 35 space missions into orbit this year in 39 attempts. U.S. companies performed 44 orbital launch attempts, with 40 successes, including flights by California- headquartered Rocket Lab from its private launch base in New Zealand. China Space 2020 Year in Review.
1 Jan 21: China expands the power of its Central Military Commission (CMC) – headed by President Xi – to mobilise military and civilian resources in defense of the national interest, both home & abroad.
strengthen the country’s military leadership under Xi.
The amendments were passed by the National People’s Congress on December 26, after two years of deliberation and stand in “big contrast when compared with developed countries like Israel, Germany and France, which prefer to put their armed forces under civilian leadership.” Video: China-Taiwan relationship.
1 Jan 21: US Congress overrides Presidential veto & passes NDAA. Bill authorizes $740.5B for defense. Space specifics:
Fun Fact: The man considered the father of Chinese rocketry is Qian Xuesen. Qian attended MIT in 1935, went to work on the Manhattan Project, and later became a co-founder of Caltech’s famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But during the Joseph McCarthy era, he was accused of being a communist sympathizer, put under house arrest for five years, and, in 1955, he returned to China. There he was greeted as a hero. He later led China’s nuclear weapons program and developed China’s ballistic-missile and space-rocket programs.
Editor’s Comment: Oops
29 Jul 20: Russia and US meet in Vienna to discuss decreasing militarization of space.
in near-Earth orbit close to a U.S. spy satellite
weaponry capable of attacking an adversary’s satellite network in war.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is the only major international treaty regulating the militarization of space. It bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in Earth orbit but doesn’t limit military/dual-purpose technologies.
4 Jan 21: India releases decadal spaceflight plan.
India recently drafted the Spacecom Policy which is expected to open up and revolutionize India’s space
sector. Earth observation is noted as one of main areas for potential growth.
7 Jan 21: China is preparing to launch three major missions in the
early ’21 to initiate construction of the country’s space station.
Building the new space station will bring the resumption of Chinese crewed missions in 2021. China’s last crewed mission was in 2016. “We will soon complete the construction of China’s first long-term orbital crewed space station meeting advanced world levels, and will carry out large-scale space scientific research on it,” Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s human spaceflight program.
4 Jan 21: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) aims to conduct more than 40 orbital launches in 2021.
China is entering the 14th Five Year Plan period (2021-2025). A space white paper, outlining policy positions, future goals and highlighting recent achievements, is expected late in the year.
