China Is Targeting U.S. Military Satellites That Are Critical To It's Defense

As China Stalks Satellites, U.S. and Japan Prepare to Defend Them -- Bloomberg

In May 2013 the Chinese government conducted what it called a science space mission from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. Half a world away, Brian Weeden, a former U.S. Air Force officer, wasn’t buying it. The liftoff took place at night and employed a powerful rocket as well as a truck-based launch vehicle—all quite unusual for a science project, he says.

In a subsequent report for the Secure World Foundation, the space policy think tank where he works, Weeden concluded that the Chinese launch was more likely a test of a mobile rocket booster for an antisatellite (ASAT) weapon that could reach targets in geostationary orbit about 22,236 miles above the equator. That’s the stomping grounds of expensive U.S. spacecraft that monitor battlefield movements, detect heat from the early stages of missile launches, and help orchestrate drone fleets. “This is the stuff the U.S. really cares about,” Weeden says.

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Update: US and Japan arm satellites against China attack: Businessweek -- Want China Times

My Comment: Brian Weeden sums it up best in this report ....

That’s the stomping grounds of expensive U.S. spacecraft that monitor battlefield movements, detect heat from the early stages of missile launches, and help orchestrate drone fleets. “This is the stuff the U.S. really cares about,” Weeden says.

And while I am not surprised on what China is doing, what is surprising about this report is the revelation that the U.S. is partnering with Japan .... not with any other U.S. ally in developing space defense.

I guess the U.S. feels comfortable that it's most vital military secrets can be protected by Japan from Chinese prying eyes over anyone else.