China winning the space race puts national security at risk --- poses the potential for large conflict.

China is determined to replace the U.S. as the dominant power in space. While proclaiming its peaceful intentions, Beijing’s doctrine considers space a military domain, and it is investing heavily in space infrastructure designed to secure both economic and military advantages. To ensure that it continues to compete from a position of strength, the U.S. must invest sufficient resources in preparing its new Space Force to defend America’s national interests and security in space.

Beijing’s rapidly improving capabilities are clear to see. On May 5, China successfully launched the Long March-5B rocket designed to eventually transport astronauts into space. This was the first successful launch of any Long March rocket this year after failed attempts to launch the Long March-3B in April and Long March-7A in March.

Three weeks later, China completed back-to-back launches from two separate launch facilities placing Earth-imaging and technology demonstration satellites into orbit. China plans to launch more than 60 spacecraft in over 40 launches in 2020, and has led global launches over the past two years.

Currently, China is second only to the U.S. in the number of operational satellites in orbit, with 363 as of March 31, 2020.

These capabilities are a cause for concern because of Beijing’s concurrent investment in space weapons. The Pentagon recently warned China has developed and fielded ground- and space-based anti-satellite, directed-energy, and electronic warfare capabilities that place the peaceful use of international space at risk.

Evidence suggests China could be developing up to three different anti-satellite systems. China launched its first successful ground-based direct ascent anti-satellite missile, the SC-19, in 2007, and spent the last decade improving follow-on versions. In 2018, the People’s Liberation Army formed military units that began initial operational training with anti-satellite missiles. The SC-19 is now assessed operational and capable of targeting low-Earth orbit satellites.

China also fielded sophisticated on-orbit capabilities, such as satellites with robotic arm technology for inspection and repair, which the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assesses could also function as a weapon.

Because destruction of assets using anti-satellite technology is easily attributable, China is also pursuing a broad range of nondestructive directed-energy and electronic warfare weapons like lasers for blinding commercial and military imaging satellites. It is also working on radio frequency-jamming technologies capable of degrading or denying satellite communications and global navigation satellite systems like GPS.