From a space launch perspective, China has a solid history of successes. Currently, only a handful of states or organizations (United States, Russia, China, European Space Agency (ESA), India, Israel, and Japan) possess space launch capacity. China’s inventory of space launch systems is substantial, and as of 2003, they had launched 73 satellites. China’s Long March series of rockets (12 different versions) possesses the capability to place satellites into low-earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbits (GEO). China is looking to increase its heavy lift capacity to a gaudy 25 tons for LEO and 14 tons for GEO. These numbers compare favorably to the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US space lift fleet. As a reference point, consider that the Long March rockets could easily lift two of the larger US defense satellites on orbit (e.g., Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites weigh less than 3 tons at 5,250 lbs and the Military Strategic and Tactical Relay (MILSTAR) satellites weigh 5 tons at 10,000 lbs). Furthermore, the ability to carry more weight may indicate that China seeks to place multiple satellites in orbit with one launcher. This is a modern space launch tactic and was used regularly during the implementation of the launching of the Iridium constellation in the late 1990s.

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Meteyer, David O. The Art of Peace: Dissuading China from Developing Counter-Space Weapons. USAF Academy, CO: USAF Institute for National Security Studies, August 2005. [ 20 quotes ] [ page 58 ]