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First off, I don't buy the underlying premise because the US has been launching satellites with global coverage for 50 years... I don't see why China would wait
by Rebelgecko 4y ago
First off, I don't buy the underlying premise because the US has been launching satellites with global coverage for 50 years... I don't see why China would wait until now to respond.
But for your question, with LEO satellites you don't really target specific countries. They cover every country within a given latitude range. A round LEO orbit that goes over the US must also go over China.
However you don't need geostationary orbits to target a given part of the globe. Molniya orbits do the same thing more or less and work better if you want coverage further away from the equator. They were popularized by the USSR and the US and China use them to varying extents.
- analog31 4y agoI had to look it up. It must have taken some impressive math work to invent that orbit in the 1960s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit
- georgeg23 4y agoThe SDA satellites are barely skimming Earth's atmosphere and may eventually take a more "active" role intercepting missiles and even targeting the ground, at least that's according to the SDA program's founder, https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/space-based-missile-defense-is-doable-dod-rd-chief-griffin/ https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/space-based-missile-defe...