New Chinese Space Plane

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
The Space Force has been in the works since the 1990s. This is a relatively recent PLA program but not unforeseen. Like the X37B the likely function is as a flying test bed.
If you wanted a potential push for a Space Force and worry about space warfare that would be “Inspection satellites” Russia Has Four Potential "Killer Satellites" In Orbit, At Least That We Know About
That's relatively benign compared to Soviet plans for orbital battle stations with cannons and missiles for taking out enemy satellites and spacecraft. They even test-fired a 23mm autocannon in space. Look into the Almaz and Polyus projects. They were working on space-space missiles, anti-satellite space-based lasers, etc. Compared to that Russian current experiments with reviving Krona, some inspector satellites (likely relatively short lived ones) and future ground-based ASAT are relatively tame.
 

Terran

Well-Known Member
True and on the other side the US MOL and Almaz both actually were aimed at and did serve as spy stations. With various US concepts like Project Thor and the Rods from God. The whole of the Strategic Defense Initiative could easily be classed as Space war as does ASAT programs. So launching Space Force now only seems to have relevance as today you have the potential to move them from the theory to practical. Perhaps it’s time to open a dedicated Space Force thread.
 
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