The US is closely monitoring Chinese activities that potentially threaten US assets in space as debris rapidly accumulates in low Earth orbit, the head of US Space Force said yesterday.
US Space Command Commander James Dickinson cheered the overwhelming passage in the UN of a resolution that countries not conduct direct ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) tests that create vast fields of space debris, which endanger satellites and space stations.
Of the four countries that have conducted such ASAT tests, the US was the only one that voted in favor, while China and Russia voted no and India abstained.
Photo: Reuters
“We can’t continue to contribute to the debris that we find in the space domain,” Dickinson said in a telephone news conference.
Most of that debris lies in crucial low Earth orbit, which has become “congested, competitive and contested,” he said.
Even tiny shards of metal can pose a danger, and the number of objects is growing rampantly. The US Space Command is tracking more than 48,000 in near Earth orbit, including satellites, telescopes, space stations and pieces of debris of all sizes, up from 25,000 just three years ago, Dickinson said.
China in 2003 became the third government to send an astronaut into orbit on its own after the former Soviet Union and the US. Its program has advanced steadily since.
The Chinese space program drew rare international criticism after it conducted an unannounced test in 2007 in which it used a missile to blow up a defunct Chinese satellite, creating debris that continues to pose a hazard.
Beijing believes that “space is a very important piece to not only their economic or the global economic environment, but also the military environment, so we continue to watch that very closely as they continue to increase capabilities,” Dickinson said.
The secretive Chinese program is run by the Chinese Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, precluding it from participating in the International Space Station or engaging in most forms of cooperation with NASA.
Proceeding with little outside help, China last month launched the last of three modules for its own space station, which briefly hosted six Chinese astronauts in space during a turnover of the three-person crew. It also has rovers on the moon and Mars, and is planning a crewed lunar mission.
With US-China tensions high over Taiwan, the South China Sea, trade and technology, space is increasingly becoming a potential flash point.
The Pentagon last week released an annual China security report that warned Beijing would likely have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, and that it has provided no clarity on how it plans to use them.
China continues to “build capabilities that, really quite frankly, hold most of our assets at risk in the space domain,” Dickinson said.
China on Sunday hit back at the US for expanding military access in the Philippines, saying that Washington was trying to “encircle and contain” Beijing, and is “driving a wedge” between the two Asian nations. The Chinese embassy said the US was moving to “secure its hegemony and selfish geopolitical interests.” Involving the Philippines “will seriously harm” the nation’s interest and endanger regional peace and stability, the embassy said in a statement responding to a recent interview with the US ambassador in Manila. The Philippines last month gave the US access to four more military bases under the countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,
Less than two months ago, the first music video by South Korean girl quartet MAVE: went viral, racking up nearly 20 million views on YouTube and setting the stage for potential global success. At first glance, MAVE: looks like any other idolized K-pop band — except it only exists virtually. Its four members — Siu, Zena, Tyra and Marty — live in the metaverse, their songs, dances, interviews and even their hairstyles created by Web designers and artificial intelligence. “When I first saw MAVE:, it was a little confusing to tell whether they were humans or virtual characters,” said Han Su-min, a 19-year-old
Philippine vlogger Rosanel Demasudlay holds a heart-shaped “virginity soap” bar in front of the camera and assures her hundreds of YouTube followers that it can be safely used to “tighten” their vaginas. The video is part of a barrage of bogus and harmful medical posts on social media platforms where Filipinos rank among the world’s heaviest users. Even before COVID-19 pandemic restrictions confined people to their homes and left them fearful of seeing a doctor, many in the Philippines sought remedies online because they were cheaper and easier to access. During the pandemic, the Agence France-Presse’s (AFP) Fact Check team saw an explosion
‘JAW-DROPPING MOMENT’: Michelle Yeoh in her Oscars speech dedicated her award to her mother and said ‘all the moms in the world’ were the real superheroes Michelle Yeoh’s mother cried for joy for her “little princess” when the Malaysian performer became the first Asian to win the best actress Oscar. Yeoh’s family and two Malaysian Cabinet ministers were among the supporters roaring with joy at Yeoh’s win during a special Academy Awards viewing party in Malaysia on Monday morning. Her trophy for her performance as a laundromat owner was one of seven Oscars for Everything Everywhere All at Once, including best picture. Janet Yeoh, 84, praised the actor as intelligent and hardworking, and a filial daughter. “I so love my daughter and she has made Malaysia proud,” Janet Yeoh