In a notable display of reconnaissance capabilities, a Chinese satellite has observed an American satellite that was itself monitoring China’s space station and high-value satellite, a move analysts described as a strategic tit-for-tat in an increasingly contested space domain.
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China’s Jilin-1 satellite constellation, operated by Chang Guang Satellite Technology, seized a favourable orbital window on September 8 to capture four images of the WorldView Legion satellite from distances ranging between 40 and 50km (31 miles).
Published last Saturday on the company’s official social media account, the pictures marked the first time Chang Guang had made public such dynamic space-based imagery.
The incident follows a social media post by US commercial remote sensing company Maxar Intelligence in early July, featuring images of China’s Shijian-26 satellite taken by its own high-resolution WorldView Legion satellite on June 3.
Those photographs, captured from distances of 29km and 74km with resolutions of 1.9cm and 4.9cm respectively, revealed the satellite’s structure in sharp detail.
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Susanne Hake, general manager at Maxar Intelligence’s US government business, said the Shijian-26 represented China’s newest generation of optical reconnaissance satellites and that the clarity of the imagery signalled a new era in orbital observation.