{"id":43917,"date":"2025-07-08T17:30:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T09:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/china-jumps-ahead-in-the-race-to-achieve-a-new-kind-of-reuse-in-space\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T17:30:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T09:30:50","slug":"china-jumps-ahead-in-the-race-to-achieve-a-new-kind-of-reuse-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/china-jumps-ahead-in-the-race-to-achieve-a-new-kind-of-reuse-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"China jumps ahead in the race to achieve a new kind of reuse in space"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Chinese satellites have rendezvoused with one another more than 20,000 miles above the Earth in what analysts believe is the first high-altitude attempt at orbital refueling.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 satellites, known as SJ-21 and SJ-25 for short, likely docked together in geosynchronous orbit sometime last week. This is the conclusion of multiple civilian satellite trackers using open source imagery showing the two satellites coming together, then becoming indistinguishable as a single object.<\/p>\n

Chinese officials have released no recent public information on what the two satellites are up to, but they\u2019ve said a bit about their missions in prior statements.<\/p>\n

SJ-25, which launched in January, is designed \u201cfor the verification of satellite fuel replenishment and life extension service technologies,\u201d according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the Chinese state-owned contractor that developed the satellite. SJ-21 launched in 2021 and docked with a defunct Chinese Beidou navigation satellite in geosynchronous orbit, then towed it to a higher altitude for disposal before returning to the geosynchronous belt. Chinese officials described this demonstration as a test of \u201cspace debris mitigation\u201d techniques.<\/p>\n

More than meets the eye<\/h2>\n

These kinds of technologies are dual-use, meaning they have civilian and military applications. For example, a docking in geosynchronous orbit could foretell an emerging capability for China to approach, capture, and disable another country\u2019s satellite. At the same time, the US Space Force is interested in orbital refueling as it seeks out ways to extend the lives of military satellites, which are often limited by finite fuel supplies.<\/p>\n

The Space Force sometimes calls this concept dynamic space operations. While some military leaders remain skeptical about the payoff of in-space refueling, the Space Force has an agreement with Astroscale US to perform the first refueling of an American military asset in orbit as soon as next year.<\/p>\n

China appears to be poised to beat the US Space Force to the punch. The apparent docking of the two satellites last week suggests SJ-21 is the target for SJ-25\u2019s refueling demonstration, and US officials are watching. Two of the Space Force\u2019s inspector satellites, known by the acronym GSSAP, positioned themselves near SJ-21 and SJ-25 to get a closer look.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

Retired Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw is a vocal proponent of dynamic space operations. Because of this, he\u2019s interested in what happens with SJ-21 and SJ-25. Shaw was deputy commander of US Space Command before his retirement in 2023. In this role, Shaw had some oversight over GSSAP satellites as they roamed geosynchronous orbit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theory behind dynamic space operations stemmed from a kind of operational frustration with our inability to conduct the full range of activities with GSSAP that we wanted to at Space Command, as the warfighter\u2014largely due to the combination of fixed fuel availability and expected satellite lifetime,\u201d Shaw told Ars.<\/p>\n

As other countries, mainly China, step up their clandestine activities in orbit, military officials are asking more of the GSSAP satellites.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was operationally driven then, a couple years ago, but it\u2019s now manifesting itself in much wider ways than even it did back then, particularly in the face of activities by potential adversaries,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m more confident and even more zealous about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geosynchronous orbit is a popular location for military and commercial satellites. At an altitude of some 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers), a satellite\u2019s orbital velocity perfectly matches the speed of Earth\u2019s rotation, meaning a spacecraft has a fixed view of the same region of the planet 24 hours per day. This is useful for satellites providing military forces with secure strategic communications and early warning of missile attacks.<\/p>\n

Now, geosynchronous orbit is becoming a proving ground for new kinds of spacecraft to inspect or potentially attack other satellites. Ground-based anti-satellite missiles aren\u2019t as useful in striking targets in high-altitude orbits, and there\u2019s a consensus that, if you were to attack an enemy satellite, it would make more sense to use a weapons platform already in space that could move in and connect with the target without blowing it up and creating a cloud of dangerous space junk.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

Keeping watch<\/h2>\n

The US military\u2019s GSSAP satellites began launching in 2014. They carry enough propellant to maneuver around geosynchronous orbit and approach objects for closer inspection, but there\u2019s a limit to what they can do. Six GSSAP satellites have been launched to date, but the Space Force decommissioned one of them in 2023. Meanwhile, China\u2019s satellite operators are watching the watchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen where GSSAP safely and responsibly approaches a Chinese vehicle, and it just quickly maneuvers away,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cWe tend to fly our GSSAPs like dirigibles, using relatively slow, minimum energy transfer approaches. The Chinese know that we do that, so it is relatively easy for them to maneuver away today to avoid such an approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf tomorrow they\u2019re able to refuel at will and operate even more dynamically, then the marginal cost of those maneuvers for them becomes even lower, and the challenge for GSSAP becomes even greater,\u201d Shaw said.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Danish Rear Admiral Damgaard Rous\u00f8e, Danish Defence Attach\u00e9, right, observes space domain awareness data with US Space Force Lt. Col. Mark Natale, left, Joint Commercial Operations cell director, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on September 26, 2024.<\/p>\n

Credit:
\n US Space Force\/Dalton Prejeant<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

China launched a satellite into geosynchronous orbit in 2016 with a robotic arm that could grab onto another object in space, then sent SJ-21 into orbit four years ago on its \u201cspace debris mitigation\u201d mission.<\/p>\n

Northrop Grumman launched two satellites in 2019 and 2020 that accomplished the first dockings in geosynchronous orbit. Northrop\u2019s satellites, which it calls Mission Extension Vehicles, took control of two aging commercial communications satellites running low on fuel, maneuvering them to new locations and allowing them to continue operating for several more years. It\u2019s easy to see that this kind of technology could be used for commercial or military purposes.<\/p>\n

But these Mission Extension Vehicles don\u2019t have the ability to transfer fluids from one satellite to another. That is the step China is taking with SJ-21 and SJ-25, presumably with hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, which most satellites use because they combust on contact with one another.<\/p>\n

US Space Command\u2019s Joint Commercial Operations cell, which collects unclassified satellite monitoring data to bolster the military\u2019s classified data sources, estimated the SJ-21 and SJ-25 satellites \u201cmerged\u201d on July 2 and have remained together since then. The video below, released by s2a systems, shows SJ-25 approaching SJ-21 on June 30.<\/p>\n

,