China is making progress on potentially “game-changing” space technology, fuelling American concerns that the gap between the two sides is narrowing, according to a US Space Force official.
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The comments follow the launch in January of China’s Shijian-25 satellite, which tested technologies that allow refuelling in orbit and to extend the life of spacecraft, according to state media reports.
There was little further information about the mission, but Chief Master Sergeant Ron Lerch, US deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, said this was “the first time that [China] publicly disclosed a capability on orbit to do refuelling and servicing and that’s a game-changing technology”.
Speaking at the London-based think tank Chatham House, Lerch said: “It’s pretty clear that they, the Chinese, have a significant concern about having capability out to 36,000km [22,400 miles] above the Earth, and they’re actively pursuing capabilities to test that out.”
US aerospace giant Northrop Grumman became the first to refuel satellites, extending their operational lives by five years, in 2019.
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Nasa had been working on a similar project but it was axed last year as a result of technical difficulties, significant cost overruns and schedule delays.