Investing in Space: How the Pentagon sizes up China’s military strength in space

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I consider one of my roles as a reporter to be, "I read this so you don't have to," and this instance features the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military and security developments. Coming in at a whopping 212 pages, the document represents the latest in-depth, albeit unclassified, view of China's military ambitions.

A quick CTRL+F search reveals 105 references to "satellite" – suffice to say, space is a crucial part of China's defense strategy. In other words:

"The PRC's goal is to become a broad-based, fully capable space power. Its rapidly growing space program—second only to the United States in the number of operational satellites—is a source of national pride and part of Xi's 'China Dream' to establish a powerful and prosperous China."

The Pentagon highlighted that the space capabilities of the Chinese military, or PLA, are continuing to "mature rapidly" thanks to "significant economic and political resources to growing all aspects of its space program." 

China's PLA has a "Strategic Support Force," or SSF, under which is the "Space Systems Department", or SSD, that leads its military space operations. The country has five launch sites and last year conducted more than 60 successful launches – triple its cadence from five years prior, but still short of the 78 the U.S. launched in 2022.

Additionally, China's 2022 launches carried more than 180 satellites into orbit – five times what it deployed five years ago. It also operates ground stations in Namibia, Pakistan, Argentina and Kenya, plus "a handful" of support ships to track satellite and missile launches.

China operates a fleet of over 290 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites, as of March 2022. The Pentagon emphasized that most of those Chinese satellites can "support monitoring, tracking, and targeting of U.S. and allied forces worldwide, especially throughout the Indo-Pacific region."

As for communications satellites, China has over 60 in orbit, both for military and civilian use, and "is fielding advanced communications satellites capable of transmitting large amounts of data."

Similar to the U.S. GPS system of 31 operational satellites, the Chinese completed their BeiDou constellation with 49 operational position, navigation and timing (PNT) satellites. Much like the vast economic benefits created by the U.S. system, China has predicted BeiDou's "products and services will be worth $156 billion by 2025," which the country plans to export "to more than 100 million users in 120 countries."

And, lest we forget, China has an operational system of anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles for targeting and destroying satellites in low Earth orbit. The Pentagon believes the country "probably intends to pursue additional ASAT weapons capable of destroying satellites up to geosynchronous Earth orbit."

Lastly, China's broader space capabilities are in the same league as those of NASA and U.S. industry: The country has an independent, operational crewed space station, and has sent robotic landers and rovers successfully to the surfaces of the moon and Mars. Additionally, it's launched "multiple satellites" to experiment with in-orbit servicing, including a satellite launched with a robotic arm "that could be used in a future system for grappling adversary satellites."

For what it's worth, there is some dialogue between U.S. and Chinese officials on the civil side of things: The Office of Space Commerce's head Richard DalBello recently met with his "Chinese counterparts" during the astronautical congress in Baku.

None of this is new, nor should come as a surprise, but it represents a key reminder of the biggest U.S. rival in the space domain. China isn't challenging the U.S. in one particular area of space tech – it rivals our capabilities in every area, in every way.

• Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and Vulcan: ULA targets Christmas Eve for inaugural launch, CEO Tory Bruno said, with the company finalizing work on the rocket's upper stage next month. If ULA misses the Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 window, it will move back the launch to January. – CNBC
• Rocket Lab to resume Electron launches before year-end, with the FAA authorizing the company to return to flight from its New Zealand facility. The company's announcement came just five weeks after the September mid-flight failure, which Rocket Lab planning to close its review in the coming weeks. – CNBC
• Boeing parachute plan postponed: A critical unanswered question in Boeing's work toward the first crewed flight of its Starliner capsule is the parachute system, with the company delaying the schedule for a key drop test from November to "early 2024." – NASA
• Terran Orbital board replies to shareholder letter that called for replacing Marc Bell as CEO, writing that it has "continued and unqualified support" for Bell and the "entire management team," while also "reviewing strategic options" for the future of the company. – Terran Orbital
• Sierra Space closing in on its first Dream Chaser spaceplane launch, completing the company's first "Flight Operations Review" at NASA's Johnson Space Center. – Sierra
• Who's up for round two? ABL gears up to launch again after a lengthy review process, with changes to its launch mount system and a shift to the second iteration, or "Block 2,"  which CEO Harry O'Hanley detailed in a lengthy update. – ABL
• Never stop flying on Mars, never what? NASA's little Mars helicopter Ingenuity has never given up and recently logged its 63rd flight. To date, the experimental aircraft has completed over 115 minutes of flight time covering 9 miles of the red planet. – JPL

• York Space wins $615 million SDA award for 62 satellites: The Space Development Agency announced that York will build the satellites for Transport Layer Tranche 2 Alpha of PWSA (Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture). – SpaceNews
• Terran Orbital to build 36 satellite buses for Lockheed Martin as part of the PWSA (Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture) constellation, with the defense giant having earlier this year won an $816 million contract for the Beta variant of the SDA's T2TL. The order adds to Lockheed's previous contract with Terran to build 42 satellites buses under the $700 million T1TL contract. Separately, Terran announced that Lockheed modified an existing contract to add $7.7 million worth of payload hosting capability. – Terran Orbital / Terran Orbital
• Terran Orbital awarded $4.7 million ESA contract through an international subsidiary: The European Space Agency deal will see Tyvak International develop a nanosatellite for deployment during the Space Rider mission. – Terran Orbital
• ESA signs with SpaceX to launch four Galileo satellites on two Falcon 9 rockets next year. The European Space Agency still needs final approval from The European Commission, which is likely to come before the end of this year. – WSJ
• MDA signs SpaceX for CHORUS mission, choosing to fly its pair of synthetic aperture radar satellites on a Falcon 9 launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. – MDA
• Singaporean lunar startup Qosmosys raises $100 million from unidentified investors, with the company aiming to reach the moon with its ZeusX lander by 2027. – Payload
• Astra looks to raise up to $25 million in debt, through a "potential issuance" of senior secured notes. – Astra

• Boeing's defense and space unit sees more narrow Q3 operating margin loss, coming in at a 16.9% negative margin versus 52.7% for the same period a year ago. The BDS unit's $924 million loss from operations was largely attributed to its Air Force One program, but it also took $315 million in losses from "a satellite contract." Boeing declined to specify the customer of the satellite contract. – CNBC
• Northrop Grumman's space unit reports 11% higher sales for Q3, with the division bringing in $3.5 billion in the quarter, up from $3.2 billion a year prior, citing higher sales for both launch and spacecraft. – Northrop
• Deutsche sees Iridium stock rallying in the next couple months, calling out the satellite communications company as a high conviction catalyst call, with a price target that implies nearly 40% upside from current levels. – CNBC
• Cantor Fitzgerald jumps on the Rocket Lab train, initiating coverage of the stock with a buy-equivalent rating and a $6 price target. The firm believes Rocket Lab's "proven and successful launch track record is an important differentiator in the industry, and we expect the company to continue to benefit from frequent launches." – CNBC
• Terran Orbital receives NYSE stock delisting warning with shares trading under $1. The company could perform a reverse stock split to attempt to regain compliance.  – Terran Orbital

• Mike Eilola is leaving Blue Origin "for personal reasons." Eilola, a former Honeywell executive, has been the company's vice president of operations since 2021. – Reuters
• Vytenis J. Buzas steps down as CEO of Lithuanian satellite builder Kongsberg NanoAvionics, with Žilvinas Kvedaravičius named as interim CEO. Kvedaravičius was previously the company's chief sales officer. Buzas, a co-founder, will stay on as a member of the board of directors. – NanoAvionics
• Will Pomerantz joins defense contractor AeroVironment as Head of Space Ventures, leading a new business unit within the company to build "on the technology and team that co-designed and co-built" NASA's Ingenuity helicopter. Pomerantz previously was Virgin Orbit's cice president of special projects and brand, having been the first employee of the former Virgin Galactic spin-off. – Pomerantz

• Oct. 26: NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel meeting.
• Oct. 26: Terran Orbital town hall.
• Oct. 28: SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites from California.
• Oct. 28: SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites from Florida.
• Oct. 30: NASA astronauts perform "EVA 89" spacewalk at the ISS.