China's Space Robotic Arms Programs

SITC Bulletin Analysis October 2013 China’s Space Robotic Arm Programs Kevin POLLPETER Deputy Director, Study of Innovation and Technology in China Project UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation On July 20, 2013, China launched three satellites on a Long March 4C launch vehicle, ostensibly to test space debris observation and space robotic arm technologies. The three satellites, Chuangxin-3, Shiyan-7, and Shijian-15, drew the attention of satellite tracking enthusiasts when two of them began conducting orbital maneuvers with each other and an additional satellite that had been launched in 2005. The maneuvers began on August 1 and involved one satellite acting as the target and another satellite, most likely equipped with a robotic arm, grappling the target satellite. Exactly which two of the three satellites were involved in the maneuvers is unknown. Based on data from the U.S. Strategic Command’s Space-Track.org website, however, the largest satellite of the three, possibly the Shijian-15, fired its thrusters to move to the smallest of the three satel- lites, possibly the Chuangxin-3, which remained in a set orbit. 1 The third satellite, possibly the Shiyan-7, does not appear to be involved in the test. These maneuvers continued until August 17 and resulted in the largest satellite closing in on and then away from the smallest satellite. On August 18, the largest satellite changed orbits and closed in on a completely separate satellite, the Shijian-7, that had been launched in 2005. These maneuvers have caused concern that the tests go beyond the stated objectives and are actually a cover for testing on-orbit anti-satellite (ASAT) technologies. In fact, space robotic arms, like many other space technologies, have both military and non-military applications and classifying them as a space weapon depends on the intent of the user, not on the inherent capabilities of the technology. China’s space robotic arm technology is thus a case study in the challenges of defining “space weapon” and the difficulty in achieving space arms control. Space Robotic Arm Technology China’s testing of space debris observation and space robotic arm technologies is part of a program to build a free- floating space robot that consists of a robotic arm mounted on a satellite and a micro target satellite (MTS) in which “a special gripper must be mounted on the end of [a] robot to demonstrate how to capture the MTS in the space.” 2 This research was supposed to have resulted in an orbital test of China’s first free-floating space robot in 2011 in 1 Zarya: Soviet, Russian, and International Space Flight Blog, “Chinese Tag Team (Launch 2013-07): Update,” September 27, 2013, http://www.zarya.info/blog/?p=1547. 2 Zhu Yingyuan, Gao Xiaohui, Xie Zongwu and H. Liu, “Development of a Gripper for Chinese Space Robot,” Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, June 25–28, 2006, Luoyang, China, p. 1,465. This material is based upon work supported by, or in part by, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Office through the Minerva Initiative under grant #W911NF-09-1-0081. Any opinions, findings, and con- clusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Army Research Office. Study of Innovation and Technology in China