China's burgeoning microsatellite program enhances its ability to attack American spaceborne assets. Beijing could discretely launch such small, lightweight and difficult to detect satellites as secondary payloads on otherwise overt missions. When desired, the hitchhiker could then maneuver into position for attack. With the help of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, (the leading microsat development company in Europe, if not the world) China is making tremendous strides in microsat design, fabrication, and operations. In 1998, Great Britain and China formed the world's first joint venture company dedicated to microsat development -- the Tsinghua-Surrey Small Satellite Company. The first Chinese microsat, Tsinghua-1, was launched on a Russian booster in 2000. The 3-axis stabilized vehicle included a GPS receiver and multi-spectral camera. The two companies are now collaborating on an enhanced agility microsat bus incorporating both a multi-spectral and high-resolution pan-chromatic imager. China plans on launching the vehicle in spring 2005 to support a global
disaster monitoring mission.

---

France, Martin E.B. and Richard J. Adams. "The Chinese Threat to US Superiority." High Frontier Journal. Vol. 1, No. 3 (Winter 2005): 17-22. [ 12 quotes ] [ page 20 ]