An Australian space industry expert has said he has concerns about the deployment of potentially threatening technology in space amid competition from Russia and China.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Space Industry Association of Australia CEO James Brown said there are currently concerns regarding new technologies in space including “satellites with robotic arms that could be used to grapple and pull them [others] down.”
Referring also to Russian “dazzling” of satellites used to observe the Ukraine conflict, Brown said that “we are starting to see a lot more friction between the great powers in space.”
Satellite-grappling technology has been demonstrated by China in the past. In January this year a Chinese satellite grabbed another, older one and pulled it out of its orbit into what’s known as a “graveyard” orbit where it won’t interfere with current activities. In other words, China was cleaning up space debris.
In April 2021, U.S. Space Command commander Gen. James Dickinson told Congress that he, too, was concerned about a “future system for grappling other satellites” used by China in an aggressive way.
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