Star Wars? China has new laser weapon that can destroy satellites in space

Chinese researchers have developed a microwave machine “Relativistic Klystron Amplifier (RKA)”, that can be used to jam or destroy satellites in space, Asian News International reported. 

This device creates a wave burst, measuring 5-megawatts in the Ka-band, which is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum used in military and civil purposes, Taiwan News reported, citing Asia Times. 

The device isn’t powerful enough to shoot satellites out of the sky from the ground, yet, but it can be mounted onto satellites, which can then be used to attack enemies in space, burning out sensitive electronics. 

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China is currently denying their RKA is a Directed Energy Weapon (DEW). However, if it were built at scale, the RKA could generate beams strong enough to go through metallic objects moving at high speeds, Taiwan News reported. 

DEWs use concentrated electromagnetic energy instead of kinetic energy to destroy or damage enemy personnel or equipment in physical conflicts. 

Space is fast becoming a geopolitical space that is hotly contested. China has added to it by testing a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle that can fly through low orbit. Thomas Karako, of the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that the US needs to have space-based sensors for effective countering of the Chinese military’s new missiles, Taiwan News reported. 

China has previously raised the issue of keeping space safe, not just from other countries but individuals as well. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, was warned since his Starlink low-orbit satellites posed a problem to China, with one nearly crashing into a Chinese space station, as per their claims. 

Now, with the situation between Russia and Ukraine deteriorating, there is a scope for greater conflict in space which could endanger satellites further. 

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Even the collaboration between Russia and the West, in space, could be quickly ending, with the Russian space director having recently threatened that Moscow might not correct the course of the International Space Station, which would cause it to come crashing on earth, as per Taiwan News.