US Space Force warns Chinese satellites are 'dogfighting' in space - The Register

[justaprogressive]

China has practiced co-ordinated satellite maneuvers in space that resemble aerial combat, according to a US Space Force General.

Speaking on Tuesday at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference in Washington, the vice chief of space operations General Michael Guetlein said the US is preparing to develop capabilities for off-planet warfare. Space Force needs to guarantee "space superiority," over China, Russia, and other nations, he opined.

That status is necessary because China has already launched a refuelling station in geosynchronous equatorial orbit to service its growing satellite fleet.

Now it's used some of its orbiting assets in what look like offensive drills.

"We observed five objects in space moving in and out and around each other in synchrony and in control," Guetlein said. "That's what we call dogfighting in space - they are practicing tactics, techniques and procedures to do in-orbit space operations from one satellite to another."

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/20/us_space_force_warns_chinese/

[Irish_Dem]

1. China plans on being the 21st century global superpower.

No one notices in the US because we are watching Trump destroy US power.
And helping the Chinese achieve their goal.

[Liberal In Texas]

2. Hey look! We're Space Force we actually might have a function.

[EYESORE 9001]

3. I have read that

one catastrophic collision could create debris that causes further collisions, etc. At least one of the world’s most powerful autocrats is OK with creating a junk-o-sphere at that altitude, rendering it useless for anyone.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

4. I'm more disturbed at what's happening on planet Earth.

Specifically Washington DC

[C_U_L8R]

5. Meanwhile, Trump golfs,

spurns our old allies and decimates the economy.

We are so screwed until he's gone.

[hunter]

6. Kessler syndrome, here we come.

Can humans really screw things up so badly?

Of course we can!

The Kessler syndrome, also known as the Kessler effect, collisional cascading, or ablation cascade, is a scenario proposed by NASA scientists Donald J. Kessler and Burton G. Cour-Palais in 1978. It describes a situation in which the density of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO) becomes so high due to space pollution that collisions between these objects cascade, exponentially increasing the amount of space debris over time. This proliferation of debris poses significant risks to satellites, space missions, and the International Space Station, potentially rendering certain orbital regions unusable and threatening the sustainability of space activities for many generations. In 2009, Kessler wrote that modeling results indicated the debris environment had already become unstable, meaning that efforts to achieve a growth-free small debris environment by eliminating past debris sources would likely fail because fragments from future collisions would accumulate faster than atmospheric drag could remove them. The Kessler syndrome underscores the critical need for effective space traffic management and collision avoidance strategies to ensure the long-term viability of space exploration and utilization.

-- more --

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome