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Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by csense on Monday October 22, 2018 @03:11PM (#18277399)
So China has the technology to destroy satellites [1], and is developing alternatives to US satellites.

Does this make anyone else nervous?

Maybe Trump has a point when he says we should stop letting China steal our technology.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chinese_anti-satellite_mi...

Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by weregiraffe on Monday October 22, 2018 @03:15PM (#18277437)
>So China has the technology to destroy satellites [

Any country that can launch a satellite has a technology to destroy one. It's called a missile. You don't even need to go to orbit - just intersect the orbit of the target and dump a bucket of nails in its path.

Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by JumpCrisscross on Monday October 22, 2018 @04:17PM (#18278080)
> Any country that can launch a satellite has a technology to destroy one

It's easier to put something in orbit than to knock something out of orbit.

Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by slededit on Monday October 22, 2018 @04:33PM (#18278230)
You can destroy something without taking it out of orbit. The pieces will happily carry on along their orbital trajectories.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by JumpCrisscross on Monday October 22, 2018 @05:03PM (#18278486)
It's easier to put something in orbit than to hit something in orbit.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by slededit on Monday October 22, 2018 @07:46PM (#18279611)
Well I'll disagree with my own unsubstantiated claim. Consider that its easier to manufacture flak shells than make airplanes. The same applies to space.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by Dylan16807 on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @03:13AM (#18281365)
Not meaningfully. If you can get into a similar orbit, it's easy in comparison to intercept.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by marssaxman on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @06:20PM (#18288008)
You don't even need much of a missile, if you happen to have an air force; back in 1985 the USAF did a test in which the pilot of an F-15 shot down a satellite, from an altitude of 38,000 feet.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by age008 on Monday October 22, 2018 @04:06PM (#18277972)
Aren't GPS satellites geostationary?
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by detaro on Monday October 22, 2018 @04:07PM (#18277977)
no, they are not.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by sbradford26 on Monday October 22, 2018 @03:16PM (#18277447)
Any country/company who has launch vehicles can destroy satellites. SpaceX could just as easily destroy satellites.
Re:China's GPS 'rival' Beidou by wegotscrewed on Monday October 22, 2018 @03:39PM (#18277686)
Don't give Musk any ideas