HomeCASIArticles


      Welcome to the Department of the Air Force's China Aerospace Studies Institute   

CASI Banner

China Aerospace Studies Institute Article Search

China Aerospace Studies Institute Articles

  • China’s Different Approach to Space Situational Awareness

    This report attempts to answer two questions. First, what do Chinese authors writing in Chinese and English reveal about domestic satellites supporting space situational awareness (SSA). Second, given the available open-source information, in what ways does China’s approach to conducting space-based

  • PLA Aerospace Force Base 37

    Base 37 is the PLA’s base for early warning and space situational awareness, likely now under the command of the PLA’s new Aerospace Force (PLAASF). Observable elements of Base 37 appear to be engaged in research on a wide array of space situational awareness (SSA) topics, and units directly

  • China can track GSSAP

    A Chinese technical assessment on the U.S. Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites from April last year revealed China’s deepening analysis of U.S. space domain awareness (SDA) capabilities.  The Chinese have moved beyond describing U.S. SDA systems, and have begun

  • Chinese Research in Space-Based Space Surveillance

         Space Surveillance is a subset and contributor to space situational awareness (SSA), which in turn, is a subset and contributor to space domain awareness (SDA). To clarify the purpose and scope of this paper, these three terms are defined and their relationships illustrated.      SDA is the

  • China’s Space Capability and What This Means for the West

    The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has rapidly advanced in the space domain on several fronts simultaneously. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command testified in early 2024 that, “The PRC is moving breathtakingly fast in space. America must rapidly increase the timeliness, quality

  • The PLA’s New Information Support Force

    The PLA’s New Information Support Force Dr. Brendan S. Mulvaney  On Friday, 19 April, Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Part (CCP), attended a ceremony where he established a new ‘force’ of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Information

  • Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company overview

    This paper provides a brief overview of Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. (CGST) [长光卫星技术股份有限公司], its operations, and connections to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Previously known in English as

  • PLA On-Orbit Satellite Logistics

    The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is preparing its satellite operators to perform on-orbit satellite refueling, for peacetime and wartime space logistics.  They are also already integrating lessons learned into corresponding military doctrine and training tools.  To further ready a PLA in-space

  • Coercive Space Activities: The View From PRC Sources

    The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is developing space technologies, in part, to deter and compel the United States from taking actions that Beijing deems counter to its national security interests. PRC coercive space efforts are intended to achieve effects in, from, and to space. People’s

  • PLA Counterspace Command and Control

    This report started as an effort to answer two questions about each of six counterspace weapon classes typically referenced in unclassified counterspace reports.  The weapons discussed in this report include: Direct Assent Antisatellite Missiles, Directed Energy Counterspace Weapons, Terrestrially

  • UK Intelligence & Security report- "China"

    While the U.S. government shutdown works its way through the American political system, we thought we would highlight an important report from our closest ally and friends across the Atlantic, from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament of the United Kingdom, entitled simply

  • Trends That Impact Perceptions of the Chinese Space Program

    The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) intention to allow civilian astronauts and non-state-owned enterprise (SOE) companies to participate in the Chinese Space Station (CSS) are two trends that will probably change the global image of the Chinese space program, but which risk being overlooked with

  • Where are the PLA’s other laser dazzling facilities?

    In December 2022, U.S. researchers again updated their analysis of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) laser research, development, and testing facilities in the desert of China’s Xinjiang province.  This time, they described how their review of commercial satellite imagery had led them to

  • What is China Doing at the Lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit?

    Written by CASI's Kristin Burke, Originally published by The Space Review at: https://thespacereview.com/article/4365/1Click here for PDF versionChina’s Chang’e 5 (CE-5) orbiter, which as of January 2022 has likely moved to the lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO), is probably conducting enabling

  • History of China’s Robotic Lunar Program

    In December of 1978, Deng Xiaoping gave his ground-breaking speech on China’s new policy of “reform and opening up” to the world at the 11th Party Congress. Six months previously, he had addressed an association of Chinese scientists, most of whom had been sent to the countryside for

  • China’s Space Situational Awareness Capabilities For Beyond GEO

    This paper reviews the publicly available information on China’s existing and planned ground and space-based systems for its beyond geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) missions.  This paper assumes that the PRC, like the U.S., has not needed a well optimized system for discovering, tracking, and