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  • Systems and Infrastructure Needed to Enable A Chinese Crewed Lunar Landing

    China’s successful completion of the third phase of its Lunar Exploration Program with the Chang’e-5 lunar sample return opens a new chapter in China’s study of the Moon.  China can now prepare for a permanent base on the Moon, the International Lunar Research Station, which may start crewed

  • Initial Analysis of Two Chinese Satellite Series: Shi Jian and Shi Yan

    The Chinese satellites with the Shi Jian (SJ) and Shi Yan designators are just two categories of Chinese space vehicles on which Beijing has not elaborated in recent years.  This paper reviews their history up to 2013 to provide space watchers with an initial framework for analyzing these

  • ITOW- China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective

    "To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is our eternal dream," stated President Xi Jinping. The space industry is a critical element of the overall national strategy.In January 2022, the The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic

  • China's Spaceplane Program

    Spaceplanes are one area in which China seeks to mimic or compete with U.S. technology. Inspired by the U.S. Space Shuttle and more recently by the Boeing X-37B orbital test vehicle, China has several ongoing projects to develop reusable launch vehicles capable of flight in both air and space. While

  • Space Domain Awareness as a Strategic Counterweight

    This paper examines the role of space domain awareness (SDA) as a strategic counterweight to potential adversary and competitor actions in space. It argues that awareness of the space environment is fundamental to maintaining and protecting U.S. interests in outer space. The U.S., however, has been

  • CASI webinar on PRC Counter-Space

    CASI hosted a webinar that looked at China's Counter-Space capabilities, plans, thinking, etc. with Brian Weeden, Christopher Stone, and Todd Harrison.  You can watch the video at: https://tinyurl.com/CASI-Webinar-PRC-Counter-Space

  • NATO Ally Contributions to the Space Domain

    This paper discusses U.S. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally space capabilities. In November 2019, NATO recognized space as an operational domain, declaring it on par with the air, land, sea, and cyber domains. NATO’s designation of outer space as an operational domain is a recognition

  • CASI Webinar on PRC Space Issues

    The China Aerospace Studies Institute hosted a webinar focused on Space issues and the People's Republic of China featuring Kevin Pollpeter and Kristin Burke.Click here to watch the video: tinyurl.com/CASI-Webinar-PRC-Space210811

  • China's Satellite Super Factories and U.S. National Security

    By early next year, three privately owned Chinese satellite super factories, backed by billions in Yuan (CNY), will be able to produce upwards of 1,000 satellites per year. This is part of a growing trend in China. The roots of this movement date back to the release of Document 60 in 2014

  • How China Has Integrated Its Space Program Into Its Broader Foreign Policy

    The way that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is governed allows it to pursue a more holistic approach to policy. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not only controls the government, but also has a presence in every major organization, including economic, technical, and academic entities.

  • China’s Ground Segment: Building the Pillars of a Great Space Power

    Space has long been important to national security.  Dating back decades, the “Space Race” was not just about the ideological competition between the communist Soviets and the free West, it had real world national security implications.  That is even more true today.  As technology has advanced and

  • China's Space Narrative

         Both China and the United States have created separate parts of their military dedicated to space. Commercial, scientific, and military endeavors in space are all intimately linked, and one must understand how they are viewed to better understand how a nation might proceed in one or all of

  • China and the Moon

    On January 4 2019, China became the first nation in the world to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. The Chinese said that this accomplishment was not motivated by an imaginary “Asia space race,” or to obtain bragging rights in the international space community. The China Lunar

  • China Achieves Full Global Satellite Coverage

    On 23 June 2020, China launched the final satellite from its Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) to be part of the BeiDou-3 constellation. The liftoff took place at 09:43 local time using a Long March-3 rocket as the launch vehicle. This marks the final piece in China’s first true Global

  • Parsing Chinese Perspectives on the U.S. Space Force

    On 20 December 2019, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020 and established a sixth branch of the armed forces – the United States Space Force (USSF). On 14 January 2020, General Jay Raymond was formally sworn in as the inaugural Chief of Space