China's PLA warns US Space Force ‘orbital carrier' risks escalating arms race
China's military has warned that a plan by the US Space Force to deploy 'orbital carriers' will accelerate an
arms race in space
Advertisement
In a commentary published on Thursday by the PLA Daily, an expert from the People's Liberation Army Space Engineering University pointed to a recent US$60 million contract awarded by the US Space Force to develop an orbital transport craft. The article said the project would 'boost US war-fighting strength, yet intensify the two nations' military rivalry and threaten space security'.
The article, published under the name Wang Tiantian, appeared to refer to a contract granted to the Seattle-based space infrastructure company Gravitics.
The firm announced in March that it was creating a '
game-changer ' system that it expected to have launched for demonstration as early as 2026. The carrier could deploy 'multiple manoeuvrable space vehicles' within hours – instead of days or weeks – using conventional launchers to counter possible threats, the company said.
At a defence conference in March, Michael Guetlein, US Space Force vice-chief of space operations, said the service was shifting towards 'a warfighting force'.
Advertisement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Should you sleep with your dog or cat? Experts weigh up the pros and cons
It turns out that our furry best friend might also be our sleep enemy. Advertisement Lots of pet owners let their animals sleep on the bed with them, which usually disrupts rest. But many would say it is worth it. Researchers do not necessarily agree. Melissa Milanak, an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in the United States who specialises in sleep health, says most people at her clinic say their pets often disturb them at night. 'You can't say that, hands down, it's bad for every single person, but there is a lot out there saying it negatively impacts your sleep,' she says. Pet owners may be less inclined to report problems when surveyed because they do not believe their beloved pets cause problems. Photo: Shutterstock
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
All eyes on China-Brazil radio telescope mission to explore dark energy
Although scientists cannot fully explain it, dark energy is likely to compose around 68 per cent of the cosmos, according to Nasa. It is a repulsive, or antigravity, force that is causing the universe to expand. BINGO is short for 'baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) from integrated neutral gas observations'. By measuring these sound waves, scientists hope to better understand the large-scale structure of the universe and discover more about dark energy. The remote location – nearly 2,000km (1,240 miles) from the capital Brasilia – was chosen for its low radio frequency interference, according to a 2019 article by the BINGO collaboration, the multinational project spearheaded by Brazil and China. The main structure of the radio telescope is expected to arrive in the hilly hinterland of Paraíba state on the Brazilian east coast in about two months and will be one of the largest of its kind in Latin America when completed in 2026. A major space science cooperation project between China and Brazil is entering its last pre-commission stages, with the departure of what will be an Olympic pool-sized telescope from the northern Chinese port of Tianjin on Monday. The first plans for BINGO, which aims to further the world's knowledge of dark energy, date back to 2011. The scientists are seeking to understand the possible connection to dark matter – a little-understood and, as of now, undetectable part of space that seems to have no interaction with light or the electromagnetic field, but makes up 27 per cent of the universe and holds galaxies together. The telescope's 40 metre (131 feet) long single radio dish will have two reflectors, 28 antennas – also called horns and what makes the instrument unique – as well as receivers and an analyser. BINGO's principal investigator, Carlos Alexandre Wuensche de Souza, senior scientist at the Astrophysics Division at INPE, the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil, was involved in the design and development of the horns. 'We have many, many horns looking at the same region in the sky, so we collect more data and can connect this data in an easier way. When you can cover a large region of space at the same time, you get more sensitivity,' he said. Researchers from China and Brazil are the main collaborators in the project, but scientists from Britain, France, Germany, South Africa and other countries have all been involved at some point in BINGO. 'The Chinese are very good to work with,' Wuensche said, pointing to the expertise in science and logistics that the project's partners from China bring to the table. If we can have good results, maybe we can tell some new things about dark energy Carlos Alexandre Wuensche de Souza, senior scientist Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the main design and processing of the telescope were completed by Chinese experts. Wu Yang, senior engineer from the 54th Research Institute of the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) and a core member of the BINGO project, told CCTV that the telescope's design was intended to simplify installation in Brazil. The Chinese researchers adopted a combination of panels and spatial truss structures to facilitate efficient installation and mass production, Wu said. CETC and scientists from multiple Chinese universities were involved in the telescope's surface and steel structure design and manufacturing process, with the project led by Elcio Abdalla, a professor at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. The telescope will also be able to detect movement of celestial bodies and allow scientists to study fast radio bursts – brief blasts of radio waves with massive energy output – and similar phenomena. 'We do not know what causes them, we do not know the model to explain why they are so bright, so intense and so short in time,' Wuensche said. Through the data collected with the telescope, he and his team may understand more of the physics behind them. Wuensche has high expectations of what the telescope could make possible. 'If it's well measured, if we can have good results, maybe we can tell some new things about dark energy,' he said. 'This would be a good contribution. This would be on the news.' Passionate about science? Dive deeper with the Dark Matters newsletter, a weekly in-depth analysis on China's rise in science, technology and military that goes beneath the surface. Sign up for free now. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese carmaker GAC's electric-van unit takes aim at Ford and Stellantis in Europe
A commercial-vehicle subsidiary of China's state-owned carmaker GAC Group has its sights set on Europe, where it hopes its electric vans can lure corporate buyers away from petroleum-powered models built by the likes of Ford and Stellantis. Advertisement Xiao Ning, CEO of Miraco Motor, told the Post that the company would launch its first model in Europe next year. It aims to grab 10 per cent of the European market, where more than 1.7 million vehicles of this type are sold each year for public transport, goods delivery, emergency services and commuting. 'Electric commercial vehicles have an overwhelming advantage over petrol rivals because of electricity's lower cost than gasoline,' he said. 'Our van will compete against six to seven rivals there, and we think it's reasonable to target a 10 per cent share.' Established in late 2023 and based, like GAC, in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province, the company is displaying its prototype models in Hong Kong at the International Automotive & Supply Chain Expo, which ends on Sunday. Miraco's battery-powered vans can go as far as 350km on a single charge. Xiao said the company also planned to offer autonomous-driving systems so that its vans could vie for a share of the robotaxi industry around the world. Advertisement The company uses a modular design approach that separates the drivetrain components from the cabin and cargo areas, to make it easier to spin out new models. Its first production model, a minibus, would hit the Hong Kong market this year, he said.
